Adventures of the Ocarina
by M.L. Widmann
Summary: Link and his best friend, Max, are told to save Hyrule from Ganondorf from a very early age. How do she and Link get through this rough adventure and manage to hold onto everything they cherished as innocent children?
1. Korkiri Forest

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Zelda or Link, just Max.

Chapter One

"Wake up, Link!"

"C'mon, five more minutes..."

"Lazy head, wake up!"

The boy called Link groaned, swung his legs out of bed and stood up. His lengthy, blonde hair was messy and his bright blue eyes were still half-closed. "Happy now, Max?"

The girl, Max, smirked. "Very."

Link and Max had lived in the Korkiri Forest all ten years of their lives. The children who lived in the forest were taken care of by the Great Deku Tree, and they never aged. None of the children could ever imagine what it would be like to be a grown up, but they knew that whatever it was like, it couldn't be as great as being a child forever. All of the forest children wore green clothes, white tights and brown, boots; and all of the forest children had their own fairy to guide them. Link and Max had only just got their fairies the day before, so they finally fit in with everyone else. Before that, they were outcast from the other forest children, which is why they had become best friends. Only one other forest child had befriended them.

Max ran her fingers through her long, sandy hair to try and straighten it out, and then said to Link, "Saria is outside and she said she wanted to talk to you. So hurry up and see what she wants." Although she and Link were friends with Saria, Max couldn't help but sometimes feel jealous. She always thought that Saria had a crush on Link, and it wasn't easy to see if Link felt the same way. He tended to hide his emotions and act like the tough guy in the forest. It wasn't that Max liked Link as more than a friend; it was just that she didn't want him to get a girlfriend, or he wouldn't pay attention to her anymore and their bond wouldn't be as strong.

Just then, Link's fairy called Navi came flying through the doorway. "Link, the Great Deku Tree wants to see you. He says it's really important!" The tiny fairy was surrounded by a bright blue glow, so she looked like a blue puff ball with wings. Navi was shortly followed by Max's pink fairy, Jazz.

"We should get going!" Jazz squeaked.

Max followed Link out the doorway and down the ladder of their house to come face to face with Saria.

"Hey Link," she smiled warmly, "I heard that you were asked to talk to the Great Deku Tree. That's a huge honor!"

"Yeah."

"Hi, Max." Saria greeted. Kin only nodded in response, and stared Saria down, from her shoulder length, flipped out, green hair, to her green mini skirt, to her quaint-looking boots. Then Max looked at herself; her plain, sandy hair, her regular green tunic, her worn-in boots... There was no way she could compare to the neatness of Saria, or any of the other girls in the forest. They all looked very pretty. But Max, on the other hand, was more like one of the boys.

Navi interrupted the ongoing conversation between Link and Saria with a quick "Okay, we really have to get going." Max chased after Link, passed two wooden homes carved from tree trunks and the simple forest shop, to the isolated path leading directly to where the Deku Tree resided. It wasn't until the anxious children reached the clearing to the path that they noticed a small, red-haired boy guarding the entrance.

"Hey Link," he said bossily. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The Great Deku Tree summoned me, Mido. Let me through!" Link narrowed his blue eyes and glared straight into Mido's dark brown ones.

"No. I've been told not to let anyone through who doesn't have a sword and shield. Things get dangerous the deeper you get into the forest." With the tone of finality in his voice, Link could tell the conversation was over.

"Where can I find a sword and shield?" he asked Max, hoping for an intelligent answer.

Fortunately he was in luck, because she didn't hesitate before responding. "You can buy two shields at the shop."

"Two shields? Wouldn't I only need one?"

"Don't be silly; I'm coming with you!"

A concerned look graced his features as he headed in the direction of the Korkiri shop accompanied only by Navi.

Suddenly Jazz perked up. "Max, follow me!" Without any warning, she flew off toward a small cave. In ran after her fairy, the wind blowing in her long, sandy ponytail.

"Where are we going?" demanded Max, holding onto her pointed green hat so it wouldn't get swept off her head.

Jazz flew out of the safe clearing where the Korkiri children dwelled and began to dart through the trees of the forest. Max didn't have a great deal of trouble keeping up with her agile partner, but with no idea where they were going, her fear and anxiety made it hard for her to keep her feet moving. At once, the pink fairy stopped midflight, forcing Max to come to a halt. It wasn't until they stopped moving that Max realized just how thick the trees and vines were, growing around them. In front of the pair lay a wooden chest the size of the small girl it sat before. She didn't need Jazz's instruction to know what she had to do.

"Open it, Maxine!"

She grasped the heavy wooden lid and threw it open, then lifted herself eagerly over the chest's edge to remove whatever was inside. The sight of two small swords did not catch her off guard at all. Both silvery blades looked identical, save for the handles – one was blue; the other bore a handle of a shade of violet. Favouring the violet sword, she swung its fabric casing onto her back and decided to carry the blue-handled sword back to Link. Only one question lingered.

"How did you know these were here?"

The tiny fairy bounced up and down in the air. "I've been in this forest for a long time. I found these years ago, but I didn't tell anyone about them. I felt they would be needed for something important..." her voice drifted off and she fluttered slowly in the direction of home. Max had a subconscious feeling that whatever it was the Great Deku Tree wanted Link for was much more serious than either of them had considered.

Only moments later, Max and Jazz had arrived in front of the small Korkiri shop where Link sat on the dirt path holding a small Deku shield. He had already slung the other one on his back.

"Look Link!" Max said, rushing up t o him. "Look what Jazz found us!" She brandished his blade and then carefully handed it to him as he stood from his seat.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" He held the sword in his left hand strongly. "Let's go see the Deku Tree!"

The walk to meet Mido for the second time was much more confident than the first. Link and Max followed the dirt path to the familiar setting. At the sight of the two children striding toward him, Mido's typically-Korkirian pointed ears twitched. As soon as they approached him, he began to get defensive. "Why are you back? I told you..." That was the moment Mido noticed the blade in Link's hand. His eyes trailed to the shield and Max's identical attire. Embarrassed and with a lack of response, the small red-haired boy moved out of the way, allowing them to pass.

The two friends didn't get far into the forest before they slowed their pace down and grew closer to one another. Even the glow emitting from Navi and Jazz, despite how rapidly their glow seemed to be shrinking, did not comfort them. A sudden snapping sound caused both of them to whip their heads in the opposite direction. Max grasped Link's hand firmly. "Look," she pointed her sword to the path in front of them. "It looks like a clearing."

A booming voice verified her speculation. "Thank you, Navi." Upon entering the clearing, all four of them became tiny visions to the Great Deku Tree. "Link... and Max... I have some very important information to bestow upon thou. Shall thou listen?" They barely nodded, still in awe. "Our world was created by the three goddesses: Din created the physical geography of our land, Nayru created the laws and justice to keep the land peaceful, and Farore created the races to uphold the laws." The group before him sat and paid complete attention to his story, so he continued without pausing. "Once these goddesses departed our world, they left behind three golden triangles containing their power, called the Triforce. Unfortunately, if the power is in the wrong hands, our world could collapse... Lord Ganondorf, an evil Gerudo King, is attempting to gain control of the Triforce and rule over Hyrule."

"What are you asking of the children?" Jazz asked the Great Deku Tree, trying to be as respectful as possible.

His strong voice echoed through the clearing once more. "I believe one of Ganondorf's monsters is trying to get something from me... Will thou rescue this artifact and possibly the life that protects it?"

Suddenly, a crack in the Tree opened, just big enough for a small child to squeeze through. "He wants us to go in _there_?" Max asked reluctantly.

Link beamed at the Great Deku Tree then tugged his friend by the elbow. "This is a big honour, Max! We can do it together." Max smiled weakly in response and allowed Link to lead her into the Great Deku Tree.


	2. Inside the Great Deku Tree

Chapter Two

Link and Max sidled and squeezed their way through the crack in the Tree to see what they were facing. The pair found themselves standing in the large, hollow trunk of their Great Deku Tree, and they instantaneously recognized what caused the danger he claimed he was so badly engulfed in. Had the pair of them climbed directly upward, it would have taken hours to reach the top of the tree, excluding all of the branches they'd have to manoeuvre themselves around.

"What now?" Max asked, taking a step forward while looking directly up the trunk.

Luckily one of them was alert, because Link shouted, "Max, look out!" before diving in front of her and drawing his sword at a bat, killing it almost instantly.

"Relax Link, it's just a bat."

"No, look, see?" He picked up the black, scaly body and pointed out the colour of its eyes. "Red eyes – it's been infected by something." She also noticed its fangs were dripping violet venom.

"What's that up ahead?" About ten paces before them was a spider web on the ground. The diameter spanned about three of Link.

He furrowed his brow and leaned toward the web. "It looks like there's something under here..." A loud sound from above them indicated they were not alone. A giant spider fell from the wall and grabbed onto Link's arm – apparently it thought he had gotten too close. "Max, help!"

She looked around haphazardly, distracted by her best friend's screaming and the clicking of the spider's pincers, to see a slingshot that had been abandoned here by a previous Korkiri child not too long ago. Some nearby Deku seeds looked good enough to use as ammunition. "Leave him alone!" The first shot caused the spider to squeal in pain, but the second steady shot was all it took to hit its weak spot and leave it limp on the ground.

Link wiggled free of its grasp as Kin pocketed the slingshot. "Sheesh, Max! Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

"Well, you were in trouble; I had to do something."

"I think there's something down here." He repeated, peering between the webs once more. Max's affection toward him had gone unnoticed. Link crawled cautiously out into the middle of the webs, then gained his footing and began to bounce. The more he realized how strong the webs were, the more weight he put into his jumps, testing the power of the strings preventing him from falling down a deep hole into a pool of water below. Once Link was throwing his entire body weight into trying to break the web, he gave up. "How are we going to get down there?"

Max scanned the inside of the Tree trunk and thought of ways to penetrate the hole. "What are those? Up there!" Not much light got through the crack in the Tree, making it hard for them to see anything much higher than their noses.

He gazed up and squinted through the darkness. "Branches?"

"Yeah, but covering the walls?"

Link jogged over to the edge of the trunk and ran his fingers along the lining of the wall. "Ow!" He quickly retracted his arm. "It's prickly!"

"They're vines!" Max was already next to him, inspecting the rough patches on the wall. "Why don't we climb them up to the branches? Maybe if we get to a branch high enough, you can jump and break through the webs!"

Climbing the vines gave the children bruises, cuts and scrapes all over their arms and faces – luckily, the rest of their bodies were covered in typical Korkiri clothing, protecting them from such blemishes – but once they reached the top, they were temporarily safe from anything in the Tree that could cause them harm.

"Okay, so who's jumping?" Link asked.

"Hey, I thought we agreed you would jump!"  
"Nuh uh! We're so high up!"

"It only looks about ten feet... Jump, Link!"

"_Me_ jump! Why can't _you_ jump?"

"I'm lighter than you are – I won't break it."

"Are you calling me fat?" Link joked, pushing Max a little bit.

Max sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, I'll jump, you big baby." She tightened her ponytail before taking a leap off the steady branch, aiming for the large web beneath them. Just as she suspected, the web acted as a trampoline, catapulting her back into the air. "See, I told you!"

"Fine!" Link called after Max as she regained her footing and began to scale the wall once more. "We'll both jump."

"No, no. It's your turn."

Link laughed. "I saw the way that thing tossed you around; I won't be much better. We'll both jump."

"...Fine." They grasped each other's hand as to make sure no one was left behind and took one swift jump, sending their feet through the webs and down the hole underneath.

Their screams echoed through the passage, which now seemed much narrower and deeper that they were inside of it. Max clung to Link in hopes that her best friend would make the fear go away. It felt like minutes later when they were suddenly emerged in the freezing water in the grotto they found themselves occupying.

"Link?" Max was not at all comforted by the single beam of light shining through the hole they'd just dropped through. "Link, where are you?"

"I'm that thing holding your hand, Max. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Do you think we're alone?"

"I hope so."

"Are you two down there?"

Max's chin shot up as she noticed two balls of coloured light at the entrance of the hole. "Jazz? Navi? Is that you?"

"Yes, we're here!" Link shouted as loud as he could. "Come join us, will you?"

With the fairies not far behind them, the grotto grew lighter, but it still wasn't enough to see very far. "What's that up ahead?" Max pointed a few feet in front of them, where there appeared to be a piece of land emerging from the water. Jazz flew ahead to verify she was, in fact, correct, leading Max and Link to swim toward the dirt near the edge of the cave.

Link ran up on shore and gasped dramatically. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes!"

"Shut up, Link!" Max hit his shoulder hard and pointed toward was earlier looked like part of the wall. "Look, it's a passageway!"

Without thinking, they both scurried through the stone passage, ducking as to not hit their heads and ended up in a huge chamber. Just as Navi and Jazz caught up with their partners on the other side of the passage, a large boulder rolled over and barricaded them into the cave.

"Max?" As Max and the fairies were scoping out the cave, Link wandered into the middle of that large, empty space, and was now staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. "Uh, Max?"

"What now?"

He drew his sword and pointed at the spot on the ceiling with which he was fixated. "What's that?"

Max followed his line of vision until her pale green eyes fell upon a single yellow iris in the centre of the roof. "...Link, what's that?" Suddenly, a giant spider dropped from the ceiling, shaking the floor beneath them. Max screamed as loud as she possibly could and ran in the opposite direction, thinking of a way to defeat the almost-seven-foot monster. As far as she had known, things like this didn't exist – the world was too pure a place. Just as easily as she'd accepted that ideal, she'd forgotten it. Things weren't all flowers and clouds and happy times; there were things she wouldn't be prepared to face – ugly things that wanted to do her damage – like this spider.

Link had already attempted, and failed at, a fancy sword manoeuvre, but he didn't lose his confidence. He charged at the spider and sliced one of its legs, making it howl in pain and retreat back to its place on the ceiling. "Max, do you still have that slingshot?"

Her pointed ears perked up and she reached for her belt. She was shaking. The slingshot was barely in her proper grip before she shot a series of three or four Deku seeds at the spider's giant yellow eye, making it fall to the ground again. "Quick, Link! Get it!" Both Korkiri children ran at the spider and used their swords to cut away at its thick, hairy legs. Once all of the legs were demolished, Link jabbed his sword through the eye of the spider, causing it to twitch a few times before rolling over onto its back.

"Is it dead?" Max asked.

Navi flew over to it and inspected the body. "Seems to me it is."

"How are we supposed to get out of here?"

Unexpectedly, a bright blue light emitted from the ground in front of them, welcoming them to take one step forward. Max grabbed Link's hand and tugged him into the circle of light with her.

Before they knew what was going on, they had been transported back to the sanctuary in front of the Great Deku Tree.

"Thou hast performed above and beyond, young ones. Here, I give you this jewel as a token of my gratitude." One of the leaves on the Tree before them lifted itself and stretched over to Link, allowing him to reach for the bright green emerald that rested upon it. "Although, thou hast come to thy rescue, thou hast little time left. Thou must take Max and thy fairies to Hyrule Castle and do what thou can to save Hyrule from the evil Ganondorf. Do not let him get the Triforce, or Hyrule is doomed."

Just then, the Great Deku Tree's leaves began to turn from green to yellow and immediately to black. They wafted to the ground slowly, a few at a time, before they realized He had reached His end. "Goodbye Father." A tear meandered down Max's cheek before she wiped it away with her now filthy hand. "Well?" she almost growled at Link. "What are you waiting around for? Let's go to Hyrule Castle!"


	3. Hyrule Field

Chapter Three

Max and Link were honoured to have gotten such a task from the Deku Tree! It was as though the Forest was singing to them – the sun shone through the leaves, casting a green glow on the Korkiri's wooden cabins and the wind sent the birds' songs to every corner of the Forest. Max wielded her sword bravely as Link marched ahead of her with pride. The pair strode through an opening in the trees and reached the bridge to Hyrule Field.

"I can't believe we're leaving the Forest," Link said, pausing a moment to look back over his shoulder.

"I know... let's go!" Max grinned and started to run toward the vast, open field, unable to wait any longer before feeling the wind in her hair, but something held her back. Link wasn't following her. She turned around to see where he'd gone, only to find an old friend was delaying their trip.

"Link," the soft voice said, holding its grip on both Link and Max. "Mido told me you'd be leaving; I just didn't think it would be so soon."

"We have a mission to go on. The Great Deku Tree sent us," Max bragged. She hoped the sense of urgency in her tone would insinuate they were in a hurry, but time seemed to stand still for Saria and Link.

He approached Saria and held out his hand for her to hold at a distance. "I won't forget you."

Max instantly felt bad for detesting her. If he really, truly loved her, Max shouldn't be so unsupportive if only just to get a little more friend time. "Good-bye, Link," Saria said, giving his hand one last squeeze before letting go.

"Good-bye, Saria." Max took a few long steps toward her newly decided friend and wrapped her in her arms. "If we don't come back, know that I wish we spent more time together."

Saria's confused expression softened into a smile and she reciprocated the hug. "Thanks, Max."

Link and Max shared a sideways glance and she nodded. "Well," Link said, "we should probably..."

"Oh, wait!" Just as they were ready to leave, they were being called back. The field of possibilities before them was all too tempting for Max; she wanted to run as fast as she could, until her legs went numb, her long, sandy hair flying out behind her. But something inside her knew they couldn't leave just yet. "I have something for you!"

Link didn't seem to mind the delay. She reached into her pocket and presented him with an ocarina – it was made of pale clay, colourless and a little uneven, but she looked proud of the gift. "Thanks."

"It's my ocarina – I made it to play when I'm feeling sad to remind me I've got friends. I want you to have it... you and Max."

Sensing her name was only an afterthought, Max's smile was half-hearted as the couple exchanged her gift and some parting words. Link turned around, gave his first real look into Hyrule Field and ran before he could change his mind.

Max beamed at the sight of the wide open field and soon chased after her friend. She suddenly discovered how trapped the Korkiri Forest had them – she and Link were free to go wherever they wanted, but first they had a mission to complete.

Link and Max stopped running before long, as they were growing tired. "Where is this castle?" Max complained. "We've been walking forever!"

"Hey," Link squeaked, his exhaustion evaporating. "Is that a girl over there?"

Max perked up and squinted through the sunlight – which before seemed inviting, but now beat down on them hotly – to see a girl maybe a few years their junior. She wore a white dress that floated around her as she danced in the field, picking flowers around a tree. Her wavy auburn hair would have touched her knees if she wasn't spinning in circles, having it fan out behind her. Max could feel her thick hair sticking to the back of her neck, despite her hair tie. Desperate to get out of the heat, she exclaimed, "Yes, let's see if she knows how to get to the castle!"

They were getting eager, and excitement at the possibility of arriving at the castle had them running again, this time toward the girl. "How do you get to the castle?" Link shouted as they were still sprinting.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked. She continued dancing until they stopped their running right in front of her. "I'm Malon," she greeted merrily. "Who are you?"

"I'm Link, this is Max." She waved mirroring Malon. "Do you know which way to Hyrule Castle?"

She scratched her head for a moment and then pointed to her left. "North. I think. Can I come with you to the castle? My dad went to deliver some milk a couple of days ago, and he hasn't come back yet. Mind if I come with you?"

Max and Link look at each other for a moment before he nodded, "Yeah, sure!"

"Great!" Malon spun one last time then stooped down and grabbed a cow-hide shoulder bag. "Okay, let's go."

The three of them walked in the scorching sun for about an hour longer when suddenly a large shadow clouded Max's view of the grass. She drew her gaze upward to see a massive castle wall and a small bridge to cross a moat. "Is this it, Malon?" Link asked, putting his hand on Max's shoulder.

"Yep – Hyrule Castle. We have to go through the market, but it's the Castle security we'll need to pass before you can find the Princess."

"Security?" Max gasped. "What kind of security?"

"Guards, you idiot!" Link shouted, pushing her over a little.

She pushed him back, only her act of violence sent Link flying into Malon. "I'm _not_ an idiot!"

"Hey, come on, let's go! You're on a mission, remember?" Malon's words rang true long enough for them to stop fighting and walk across the bridge to the market.

Hyrule Market was a culture shock for Link and Max; they had never seen so many people bustling around in such a small area before. Everyone seemed to be shouting over the constant street noise. All Max thought was how great it was for them to be making noise, so the three children could squeeze between everyone's legs and sneak toward the castle. And they did it without being noticed by one single person, too.

"I'm going to see my dad; I'll be able to talk to the guards and ask about him. If you want to talk to the Princess, you'll need to sneak by them." Malon smiled at both of them and wrapped them in a group hug with both of her tiny arms. "Good luck."

"Thanks, Malon." Max hugged her back. "I hope you find your dad."

"Thanks." Malon beamed and started dancing off towards the castle.

Link nudged Max when Malon had skipped out of their sight and the both of them ran stealthily over to a water drain in the side of the wall. One of the castle soldiers almost caught sight of Max's hair before it flipped away to the other side of the wall, but she was lucky enough not to be of suspicion to him. Both of the children dressed in green looked a couple feet above them at the storm drain.

"Max, come on, I'll give you a lift."

"What? No! Why can't I give _you_ a lift?"

"Because you can't; I'm too heavy for you."

"But you can pull yourself up!"

"Which is why I should lift you and then climb up myself after!"

Max stopped to think and realized she'd backed herself into a corner. "Fine." She clambered upon Link's shoulders and slithered through the drain, quickly followed by Link.

"Where do I go?"

Link's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Well, there's only one way you _can_ go – straight!"

"Shut up!"

"Quiet or someone will hear us!" Link whispered hoarsely.

Once Max emerged from the other end of the drain, she was sopping wet, which she decided was ultimately better than the heat in Hyrule Field, but she still wished she wasn't so uncomfortable. Link joined her and they took the time to examine where they were. They had the fortune of coming out into the highly secured garden of the palace. If they had been talking at the time, three or four guards would have them by the throat already. Max's heart started beating even harder as she realized that their chances of getting in were growing slimmer. She dove behind a barrel with Link almost immediately and allowed herself to exhale.

"What do we do _now_?"

Link took off his green Korkiri hat and peeked over the barrel. "Okay," he whispered. "I think the only way is if we hide behind the sculptures as we go." The garden was filled with hedge sculptures and fountains they could easily hide behind – but the chances of being seen in the process were ridiculously high.

Max nodded and one at a time they ran from sculpture to sculpture, fountain to fountain fairly successfully until Link's hat had fallen out of his hand in the middle of an empty patch of grass. In going back to get it, he was almost seen. Before they knew it, they were at a long, marble hallway that led to a clearing. In the clearing was a large window into the castle, and a girl about their age peering through it. "Is that the Princess?" she whispered. The girl was wearing a white dress adorned in purple and yellow. She had a white material covering her hair, but from what Max could tell, she was blonde.

"Only one way to find out." Link strode down the marble corridor and tapped the girl on the shoulder and she turned around, startled.

"Who are you?" she asked very quickly.

"I'm…"

But his explanation was cut short. "Wait, I've seen you before."

"You have?"

"Yes, not the girl, but I've definitely seen you." Max had a feeling this was about the fact that he was the Chosen One and she was only his accomplice, but she was anxious to hear regardless. "I had a dream about you – you saved Hyrule from the man… that man in there that I was just looking at! Go on, look at him." Both Link and Max gazed through the window at a man who was greeting the King of Hyrule; the darkness surrounding him put them both on edge. "That man in there, Ganondorf, have you seen him before?"

"The Deku Tree told us about him!" Max blurted.

"The Deku Tree? You are from the Korkiri Forest? So that must mean you are the Chosen One!" she laughed and hugged Link in delight. "What are your names?"

"Link."

"Max."

"Link and Max, I am Zelda – Princess of Hyrule. Do you have the Korkiri Emerald?" Link pulled the jewel from his pouch and handed it to Zelda. "You must collect all three Spiritual Stones… Only this will open the Door of Time in the temple out in the market. If you open the Door of Time, we may be able to save Hyrule from Ganondorf's evil plans. Will you take on this task?" Link and Max wielded their swords and crossed them as if to say no such task could destroy them while they work together. "Good – you must save the Triforce!"

"Triforce?"

"Yes, three pieces of the Triforce have been targeted; I think Ganondorf is trying to get behind the Door of Time and steal it. If he gets hold of this power, he will have ultimate control over Hyrule!"

"You can count on us, Princess!"

"That is good to hear, Max. I am very confident in you both. Here, I will write you a letter so you may scale Death Mountain and obtain the second Spiritual Stone. This note will get you by the guards; I hope they didn't give you any trouble on the way here. But my nursemaid Impa will show you out without trouble." It was only then that they realized the three of them weren't alone. A young woman with a strong body and painted face, a very intimidating look, was watching them from the marble corridor. "Good-bye you two. Best of luck!"

Max and Link approached Impa with caution, but unnecessarily. She smiled warmly at them and held out her hands for them to take. She talked to them as she led them through the castle out to the path facing the market again. "I believe what my Princess says about the Triforce. On your mission to Death Mountain, you should take a sturdier shield, as well. I suggest picking up Hylian Shields from the Bazaar on your way out of the market. Do not focus on the idea that Hyrule depends on you – remember that the Princess and I have faith."


	4. Lon Lon Ranch

Chapter Four

Max and Link heeded Impa's warning and grabbed two Hylian Shields before leaving the market, selling off their Korkiri ones for a few extra rupees. Before leaving them completely, she walked them across the moat and back out to Hyrule Field. "Here, if you come across any trouble from our guards, know this song. It's the song I sang to Zelda as a lullaby, but it is also well-known by our friends. By humming it to them, they will understand you are with us." Impa taught Link how to play the simple melody on his ocarina, while Max hummed along to the tune. "That is all I can teach you for now, but know that as the last of the Sheikah, the tribe who inhabited Kakariko Village long ago, I will have knowledge about the town if you wish to know more."

"I think we're alright for now, thanks for everything!" Max beamed.

As Impa started walking back to the castle, even Jazz and Navi bobbed up and down, giving a visual form of delight for having met her. "That was quite helpful!" Jazz squeaked. "But I don't think we'll be able to make it to Kakariko Villiage by sunset."

By looking into the sky, both Max and Link knew she was right. The sun was already getting far to the west, and they would get there after nightfall. "Where should we go, then?" Link asked, waiting for an answer from no one in particular.

"What about the Lon Lon Ranch?" Navi suggested. "Malon said her dad had to deliver milk to the castle - maybe they are the ones who own it? We could stay there for the night."

"That sounds like a good plan to me!" Max smiled and grabbed Link's hand, taking off toward the large wall that read 'Lon Lon Ranch'; it wasn't too far off, either - maybe a ten minute walk.

They ran hand in hand until it got to sweaty to do so, after which they rubbed their hands on their green tunics and kept walking at a steady pace. Max adjusted her Korkiri headband - the one thing that distinguished her as a Korkiri girl from the rest of the boys - and sighed as they approached the ranch. It looked nice from the outside, but probably even nicer from the inside. Max prodded Link to go first, so he took the lead and she marched in after him.

Upon entering the ranch, all four of them gaped at the sight. There were a few buildings where Max supposed they slept, or kept some more of the animals, but straight on there was a large coral containing at least fifteen or twenty horses. She ignored Link's hesitation and ran directly to the coral. Max had only ever heard stories of horses before, and she couldn't believe she was actually staring at so many right before her. It wasn't until she ran up to one that she realized there was a man guarding the coral.

"Why hello there, miss; what can I do ya for?"

"Oh!" she gasped. "Sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's alright. I can see from your dress there, that you ain't from around here." The man had a large, bushy moustache that suited his stout form, and a wide grin on his face. "What's yer name?"

"I'm Max, and my friend…" she turned around and motioned to Link who was coming up slowly. "That's Link."

"Nice to meet you both! I'm Talon - I own the ranch. You may have met my daughter, Malon; she's always playin' out in the field. Wild imagination, that girl's got!"

"Yeah, we met her earlier today." Link said as Talon took his hand and shook it vigorously. "Which is kind of why we're here."

"You wanna marry my Malon, don't'cha?" Talon laughed heartily, but Link's face bore a look of horror.

"No, sir! We've been walking all day without much food or rest, and…"

"I hear ya loud and clear! Malon!" he called, catching her attention from the middle of the coral. She stopped stroking one of the horses with a vivid white mane and skipped over to the group of them. "Malon, show your guests a place they can stay for the night, and get 'em a good amount of food, and a tall glass of our finest milk!"

"I don't milk the cows yet," Malon told them. "But Daddy says that once I'm old enough, I can do it. Right now, it's just Ingo. Ingo works for Dad. Dad says the milk will probably taste better when I do it myself."

"That's impressive," Link said genuinely.

Malon led them into the long building to their right and up a flight of stairs. "This is where I'm supposed sleep, but you can stay here for the night. I don't mind sleeping in the barn. I do it all the time."

"If you're sure…" asked Max.

"Oh, I'm sure! You can leave your big, heavy shields and swords in here if you like - no one's going to take them from you. It'll be more comfortable for when Dad cooks up some chicken for tonight."

The dinner was absolutely delicious. Of course, it may just have been because Max hadn't eaten in so long, but the milk was creamy, and the chicken was succulent. It was a very different flavour from the usual delicacies they ate in Korkiri, but the world was open to them, and Max didn't want any more limitations - on her appetite, but more generally, on any of her experiences. She wanted to meet new types of people and see everything there was to see in Hyrule.

"Thank you for letting us stay here, Mr. Talon," Max said through a mouthful of juicy chicken. "This is delicious. We've never had chicken before."

"No?"

"Mostly rabbit and berries." Link chimed in.

"Well, it ain't a problem! Right Malon?"

Malon didn't seem to have heard her father's question as she asked one of her own to counteract the attention. "Will you two join me outside? If you sit in the proper place just outside the coral, the stars are absolutely wonderful."

"We never could see stars in Korkiri," Max groaned. "So many trees. But mostly because of the insects, we slept indoors."

Malon was right. The stars looked about five times bigger out here on the ranch, and with the sound of horses trotting slowly behind them, she felt as though they were in a fairytale. It was hard to imagine that they had to go to Death Mountain first thing in the morning, but she didn't want to think about it.

"How long have you two been friends?" she asked.

Link shrugged as he lay on his back looking up at the stars. "I don't know - ever since I can remember."

"You're pretty lucky to have one another. All I really have is my Dad and Mr. Ingo, well, and Epona."

"Epona?" asked Max, looking around for the person Malon sat up to motion towards. Instead of a person, Max's face was met with the nose of a small horse - the very same horse with the white mane she was petting earlier.

"Epona is my horse! My mom played her this song and it's the only thing that'll tame her. Want to hear it?" Malon didn't wait for an invitation before she began to whistle a soft tune.

"That is beautiful," said Link, taking his turn at petting the horse. "She's grand."

"Thanks," Malon beamed. "It was so very nice meeting you both. Do you think you will come visit after your mission is finished?"

Max and Link looked at each other and Max took the initiative in answering. "Yes, definitely."


	5. Death Mountain

Chapter Five

The sun had barely risen when Link and Max were ready to leave the ranch. "Thanks for everything, Malon," Max smiled. "We really needed someplace to stay…"

""Come back anytime you like," Malon said happily. "You're always welcome here!"

Leaving the Lon Lon Ranch was bittersweet; Max knew they had to get back on the road, but it was unsettling not knowing where their next meal would come from. She tried not to think of that; their mission to get the next Spiritual Stone was going to be as hard as the first one was. Probably harder, considering neither of them had travelled to Death Mountain before.

"I'm so bored, are we there yet?" Link whined after only having been walking for about half an hour.

"No!" Max shouted. "We'll be there when we see the big sign that says 'Kakariko Village'!"

That sign didn't make an appearance for another hour and a half. It got harder to walk as the hot sun beat down on them, but once they saw the entrance to Kakariko Village, life returned to both of their faces and they picked up into a run.

Entering the village was such a bizarre feeling. It wasn't as hectic as Hyrule Market, but it was definitely not as relaxed as the children's atmosphere in Korkiri Forest. There were men carrying large planks of wood from one side of town to the other, little shops with bells that rang every time someone opened the door, and a lot of housing that seemed like too much for the small amount of people who lived there.

One thing caught their eye, one thing looked horribly out of place in the laid-back village; a woman was running aimlessly around a large open space, her arms spread as though she was blind and didn't want to run into anything – chickens flying every which way except toward her. "Will someone help me?" she squealed. "My Cuckoos escaped from the pen! Help!"

As though it was their duty, Max and Link ran up to her. "What do you need, Ma'am?" Link asked, sounding a lot more grown up than eleven years old.

"Oh, thank heavens!" Her deep red hair was askew from its bun and she appeared absolutely panicked. "My Cuckoos escaped the pen and I can't put them back. I'm allergic; if I touch them, I'll get goosebumps!"

Link and Max gathered her Cuckoos in no time at all and she looked very grateful. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, now appearing to be a little less stressed. "I didn't think anyone would stop to help me."

"No troubles, Ma'am," said Link. "Do you think you could tell us which way to Death Mountain?"

"Oh, yes!" she pointed behind them and suddenly the path was very obvious. "Take that road up the hill a little ways and you'll come to the foot of the mountain. But there's a guard you have to get passed."

"We've got that taken care of." Max smiled as she patted the place in her pocket where she kept the letter from Zelda. "Thanks, um…"

"Oh! I'm Anju."

"Thanks Anju."

The pair of them only had to walk a minute before reaching the gate Anju was talking about. Sure enough, it was guarded by a Hylian soldier.

"Where do you kids think you're going?" the soldier asked sternly, not moving an inch at the sight of them. He clearly thought they were not a threat.

Link was prepared to pull out his sword, but Max retrieved the letter from her pocket. "Princess Zelda sent us, sir."

"The Princess?" he asked, stealing the letter from Max's gentle grip. "What sort of game is she up to now?"

"It's no game, sir." Link was growing angry, but he left his blade hidden. He wouldn't risk losing their ability to scale the mountain because he couldn't keep control of his temper.

The soldier read the note several times over, then handed it back to Max who brought it close to her again with even more confidence than when she had first let it leave her hands. "So can we go in?"

"Sure." The soldier was trying to stifle a laugh, but not very hard. "Good luck, kids. You're going to need it." Link rolled his eyes and stormed passed him, but he didn't get very far before the soldier turned around and hollered after them, "Hey, look for Goron City and go from there!"

"Goron City?" Max repeated as they hiked up the steep rubble at the foot of Death Mountain. "What do you think that is?"

"Maybe it's a city of Gorons, genius."

"Well I don't know what a _Goron_ is, Link!"

"Neither do I – it was a guess."

Their bantering back and forth kept them from wanting to turn back. It kept Max from wanting to just sit down and tend to her legs that had been aching since they got to Kakariko Village; most importantly, it kept them both feeling safer than was their reality. Without a mind on the rocks falling toward them on the slope, or considering what may await them at Goron City, in a weird way it reminded them a lot of home – a home that they may or may not see again.

Scaling the mountain became easier as they reached a path and Max could shift the weight from her arms to her legs and back. "You think we're almost… there?" Her last word came out more gently than the rest of her question as it was answered by the time it slipped out of her mouth like second nature. They turned the corner and saw exactly what they'd been hunting down.

The two friends stood before a large cave that could only be the entrance to Goron City. "Do you want to go first?" Link asked, hesitantly poking his head into the dark passageway, unable to see the end.

Max rolled her eyes. "Why do _I_ have to go first?"

"Fine, I'll go…"

"No, I'll go!" She drew her sword before Link had a chance and charged into the cave.

It didn't go on as endlessly as it appeared at first. Max took a few steps forward and suddenly, Jazz's glow was illuminated by a flood of light pouring through from wherever it led. Link had to shield his eyes as what Max recognized as flames nearly blinded him with the flash. When he brought his arm down, they came face to face with a large being which they primarily dubbed as a very tall, bulky human. As the light from behind him died down, they let loose a gasp each.

"Welcome to Goron City… You are from the forest?" The creature before them didn't seem to realize how scared they were. Only having seen the forest and a very slim margin of Hyrule, they hadn't any idea what a Goron was. He was the colour of sand and was very hefty around the middle, but he looked strong, not flabby. He also had a tattoo of a black diamond with three smaller diamonds on top that made it look like a footprint of one of these monstrous beings. He seemed to take notice to their discomfort and laughed. "Do not be afraid – have you not seen a Goron before? I am Darunia. You are from the Forest?"

"Y-yes," Link stammered.

"I know because of your dress. Is there something you needed from me?"

Max stepped forward and told him directly, "We need a Spiritual Stone. Do you know where we can find it?"

"I do, but there has been a problem... The Goron Ruby has been stolen by Dodongo – he is the lizard that inhabits the Cavern to the left of this City. You may have come across the large boulder beside this entrance. It is blocking the Cavern."

"How do we get the stone?" Link asked.

Darunia looked sternly at the pair of them and said, "The Ruby has been in the possession of the Gorons since the birth of our race. You may only have it if you open the cave and defeat Dodongo; with that creature living in the Cavern, we cannot get to the lushest rocks for eating and the Gorons _are_ eating, but not well. We need those rocks to survive and fulfill our lives. With the gain of those rocks, you may have the Goron Ruby."

"But how do we get in there if the boulder…"

Darunia interjected over Max's meek voice. "There are bomb flowers all over the mountain – a rare crop in Hyrule. Pick these flowers and set them near the boulder. We Gorons are strong, but not fast enough to survive a blast."

Link and Max nodded once, shortly, and turned back to look for the bomb flowers.

Max couldn't believe she didn't notice the flowers at the edge of the entrance to the City before. They were in clumps of three or four; they donned red and orange petals that resembled the transparent nature of a flame. Link picked one, which didn't take much effort, but once he did, the flower started to flash – slowly at first, then gradually picked up pace. His eyes went wide and he threw it at the foot of the boulder.

"Max, run!" He shouted and took her hand in his own, dragging them both as far away from the flower as humanly possible. They had just enough time to duck behind another large rock before they heard the explosion, and a gust of heat was sent in every direction. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah – are you?"

"I'm fine."

Max was the first to stand and see the mouth of the Cavern. "You ready to go in?"

He paused. "How big do you think the lizard thing is going to be?"

"I guess we find out together." Max was still holding Link's hand as she held her breath and walked down the passage in the Cavern.


	6. Dodongo's Cavern

Chapter Six

The cave was dark and dry. Max was instantly reminded of how parched she was, and wished they'd packed some water or milk before leaving Lon Lon Ranch. As a bat flew overhead, both Link and Max dropped to the ground in fear. "What was that?" Link exclaimed.

"Just a bat," said Max. "It's okay." She was becoming more and more unsure of their safety as they walked on, not sure who she was reassuring anymore, but once they reached a large opening in the narrow passage, all of her previous hope had been lost.

Before them was a large chamber with a fiery lava pit in the centre. Max took a few steps back to absorb the scene in awe. Then something caught her eye that made her grab Link's arm.

"What is that?" she whispered hoarsely.

"What's what?"

"That big rock over there... it just moved."

There was no big rock, they soon discovered. The blue-grey boulder Max thought was stone began to shift slowly and uncurl itself, revealing the monster they would have to face in order to get the Goron Ruby and help the Princess. The lizard seemed to have scales made of stone, and massive cone-like thorns were jetting out of its spine right to the tip of its long, slithering tail.

Dodongo took notice of the two Forest-dwellers in its chamber and emitted a roar that shook the cave in its entirety.

"Link, how do we kill this thing?" Max exclaimed over the noise of vibrating rock all around them. "It's huge!" Dodongo had to be about the size of the Great Deku Tree, and that's if his tail wasn't included in that approximation.

Link drew his sword in unison with Max, but it was like going up against a fire-breathing dragon with a wooden stick; they needed something stronger than a simple blade.

"I have an idea!" shouted Link. He didn't have a chance to explain what it was before Dodongo curled back into a ball revealing only his stony scales and rolling around the lava pit toward them. He grasped her hand and they both ran as fast as they could away from the monster. Once he stopped rolling, Link decided to demonstrate rather than explain. He ran straight toward the pit of lava, scaring Max only for a moment, then she realized what his plan was; there were bomb flowers down there. He picked a few and threw them at Dodongo, exploding on impact.

The monster groaned as the detonation caused him harm, and rolled off in the opposite direction. "Keep doing that!" Her encouragement sent him running back to the growth of flowers faster, this time she accompanied him. Dodongo was getting angrier, though, and it came rushing at them on all fours this time – but the blast of two handfuls of bomb flowers sent him stumbling back on all fours as well.

"Yes!" Link cheered, not holding back as he ran for another four or five bomb flowers with Max.

Dodongo hadn't moved much since their last attack, so they didn't have to go far to deliver another blow. As they pelted him with their bomb flowers in unison, Dodongo roared in agony and began stomping around the cave. It was nearly impossible to know when he would next bring his huge foot down somewhere near the pair of them, so running wasn't much help, though they ran anyway.

Before he was brought to his knees, Dodongo managed to swing his tail around one last time to viciously strike Link into the wall of the cavern. It all happened so slowly to Max, yet there was no time for her to react properly. "Link!" she shouted, once the monster had finally fallen into the lava pit in the centre of the cavern, taking its last breath. "Link, Link!"

She ran to his side, hoping the sight wouldn't be too horrific. "Link, oh my Nayru..." Link's blonde hair was stained pink with blood where his head hit the rock. His arm looked a little twisted, but Max had seen this before; his arm got knocked out of its socket a few times back at the Forest – they were so far gone from the Forest, it was a wonder her mind kept travelling back there.

"Link, can you hear me?"

He shifted slightly, so at least he was alive. At this prospect, Max allowed herself to exhale. "We're not going anywhere until you can stand on your own," she said, knowing well he couldn't respond, let alone hear what she was saying to him. Max lifted his head very gently and placed it in her lap as she sat on the warm rock lining the cave.

She hated having to put Link's arm back. Usually they were surrounded by Korkiri children when this happened, and Link was showing off his humorous injury like a bizarre type of battle scar. The Korkiris would all laugh and moan at the spectacle of Max having to push it back into place. Today there were no other children – just Max and an unconscious Link – and suddenly the routine was not funny at all, but something that embedded a twinge in her chest. She winced at the snapping sound she inflicted on Link and hoped he would not awaken because of the pain she may have caused him.

Unsure if it was a good thing or not, Link's eyes twitched and opened very slowly. "Link!"

"What the heck happened?" he asked. He tried to sit up, but Max pushed him back down again.

"You got hit by his tail... just a few cuts, and I had to put your arm back in again."

He chuckled at the memories, just as she had tried to do earlier. "So I'm okay?"

"Does your head hurt?"

"It stings; I can feel the cut. Besides that, no."

"Then you're okay."

Max smiled at Link and helped him stand to his feet. Link looked to his left at the monster half-submerged in the pool of lava and smirked. "We actually killed that thing."

"I know; I can't believe it!"

"What now?"

"Now we get the heck out of here and ask Darunia for the Spiritual Stone."

Max grasped hold of Link's hand and the pair of them left the chamber, walking down the stone corridor that brought them to Dodongo in the first place.


	7. Zora's River

Chapter Seven

The tunnel could have gone on forever, but Max and Link finally reached the light on the other end, and praised Farore for making something so beautiful to them at that very moment. Darunia, who must have heard the commotion from inside the Cavern, was already waiting for them when they emerged.

"Link, Max, did you complete your task? Is Dodongo really dead?"

Link nodded heavily. "Yeah, it's dead. You can take the rocks from the Cavern now."

Darunia's usually stern expression cracked into a smile and he wrapped both of them in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you! The Gorons are so grateful for your victory! Here," he stuck two large fingers into the satchel around his neck and delicately pulled out a ruby that a Korkiri child could only hold in one fist. "The Goron Ruby - Spiritual Stone you wanted."

"Thanks, Darunia," said Link, taking the stone and putting it in his own small bag.

"No, thank you, kind Korkiri children. There is also another gift I would like you to take."

Max furrowed her brow. "What's that?"

Darunia picked up a bag made of dragon skin and handed it to her. "Bombs. They aren't very big in size, but their explosions will be massive. Use them wisely."

She grasped the bag easily in one hand and tied it to her belt. "Thank you, Darunia. I hope we see you again." She hoped that after they found all three Spiritual Stones, she and Link would stay in Hyrule and never go back to the Forest - it was so much better being free.

Saying their goodbyes to Darunia was only easy because they knew something much harder was on the horizon. They trekked down the mountain once more and came back to the entrance of Kakariko Village at Hyrule Field.

"That's strange," Jazz said, fluttering her wings much more quickly. "Do you feel that, Navi?"

Navi appeared to be shuddering as she hovered above Link. "I do… it seems like there are cold winds coming from the Zora River."

"Zora River?" Max exclaimed, turning back to look at her fairy. "Zoras exist?"

"Of course they exist," Jazz giggled.

Max had heard of Zoras a few times in the Forest, but she'd always thought the rumours about the fish-human race were just myths. She was intrigued to meet such a race. "So which way to the River?"

"It's only a little while south from here," Navi said, flying toward the direction they should begin to walk. "Come on, I'll show you."

As the children followed Link's blue fairy, Max began to feel weak. They hadn't eaten anything since that dinner at the Lon Lon Ranch, and their milk had been used up on their climb up Death Mountain. "Where do you think we can find something to eat?"

Link sighed. "I don't know, but I'm pretty hungry."

"I'm starving!" whined Max. "I don't know how much longer I can walk without food!"

"Shut up, you big baby! We'll get something soon."

"Like _what_?"

"Stop complaining!" Link shouted. "You didn't have to come on this journey, you know!"

"I know; I didn't want you to get hurt!"

"Why not? I can do this myself."

"I'm your friend! I don't want to see you killed just because you're too proud to admit you could use some help!"

"Both of you, stop it!" Jazz flew up and down repeatedly to attract their attention. "We'll get water when we arrive at the River! And I'm sure there'll be something to eat alongside the water, as well!"

Link and Max, who were at each other's throats only a few seconds ago suddenly took a deep breath and nodded. "There has to be something along the River." Link agreed, changing the subject.

Max wasn't about to let it go so easily. "Don't tell me you wish I didn't come. If it weren't for me, you'd still be unconscious in Dodongo's Cavern."

Link ignored Max, but it was obvious he regretted saying that to her - that the fact she was following him on this mission meant nothing to him, nothing at all, that was a lie.

Suddenly, they rounded a bend where they could see water, at last. Link beamed. "Navi, if I could hug you right now, I would."

All Max saw was the water. She could even smell it from where they stood. "Yes!" Her walk was able to pick up into a run at the sight of the calmly running river. Max dove her head into the shallow water and lapped up as much as her small tongue would allow. It was the most delicious water she'd ever tasted. She even took the bottle Malon had filled with milk only yesterday (only yesterday? It felt like months ago!) and replaced the contents with stream water.

Link wasn't far behind her; he, too, was sipping up water like a fox in the Forest. "Come on, if we follow the River for only a mile or so more, we'll reach Zora's Domain and we can find the King!" Navi sounded frustrated. "He'll know where the final Spiritual Stone is!"

The children pried themselves away from the water and walk down the River some more. Half a mile longer, and they'd run into someone; a fairly chubby man was sitting by the River eating beans out of a large bag. Max and Link were too hungry not to say anything to him. "Excuse me?" Max perked up.

The man turned out to be a boy - no more than sixteen or seventeen. "We've been travelling forever, do you mind…"

He cut Link off. "You kids look tired - here, take a few for the road." The boy handed them each a pod full of beans and then tossed Link a satchel full of them, which he attached to his belt.

"Thank you, kind stranger!" Max beamed and stuffed the beans in her mouth. Their soft, flavourful texture hit her tongue and she could practically hear the angels chorusing.

Link and Max had full stomachs once more which pushed them to feel as though the rest of the walk was too short. They were actually surprised to hear Navi's squeaky voice announce, "We're here!"

There was a large waterfall before them, and a Triforce symbol on the ground. "How do we get in?"

Jazz flew closer to inspect the Triforce embedded in stone and then back up to Max's eye-level. "Maybe you should try playing Zelda's Lullaby on the ocarina. It signifies you know the Royal Family - they should let us in if you're messengers of the Royal Family!"

Link reached into his pocket and retrieved the small ocarina Saria had given him, then played the simple, three-note melody Impa taught them a few days ago. Just then, the waterfall seemed to come to life, and it parted, revealing a cave behind it, just begging to be explored further.

They grasped each other's hands and ran through the tunnel until it opened into a great cave filled with passages, ponds, more waterfalls, and Zoras scattered throughout. The dark walls were lined with torches so it didn't look so gothic.

"Where can we find the King, please?" Navi asked a Zora who stood in front of them. The Zoras looked like people, only they adapted to live in water - blue for camouflage, webbed feet and hands, fins and a more aerodynamic-shaped head.

"You can go up the stairs here; his throne is at the top."

"Thanks," said Link as they took the stairs two at a time.

The stout King sat atop his Zora throne with confidence, and he proudly bore a crown and red cape. "Who are you?" he asked with a booming voice.

"I'm Max, and th-this is Link," said Max, feeling a little scared of the King. "We're on a quest for Princess Zelda - looking for the Spiritual Stones. Do you know where we can find one?"

He stared off into the distance for a moment and sighed heavily. "My darling daughter, Ruto, had it with her…"

"Where is she?" asked Link.

"She disappeared."

Link stood up straight and wielded his sword. "We can find her for you, Your Highness."

"If you find her, I'm sure she will give you the Stone - she really is a sweetheart."


	8. Inside Jabu Jabu's Belly

Chapter Eight

"Where do you think the Princess is, Your Highness?" Max asked, surprised at the sophistication in her tone – she _was_ speaking with the King of Zoras after all.

The King's stern featured moulded itself into a rather wide smile as he thought about it. "She's always leaving clues about the Domain when she does something like this. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the energy to be chasing after her…"

"We'll find the clues!" Link was already running back down the stairway they had climbed to see the King. Max quickly thanked the King and chased after her best friend, wielding her own sword defensively. "Link, where do you think we can find her?" she shouted after him.

Link's dirty blonde hair flew out under his green Korkiri hat. "I think we should ask around to see if someone has seen her!" The pair of them put their swords back in their sheaths and Max had caught up to him just in time for them to approach the first Zora they saw together. "Hi there," Link said, waving in a friendly manner. "The King is looking for his missing Princess. Do you know where she might be?"

The very tall, skinny Zora before them shrugged. "I'm sorry, I have no idea."

Max had an inkling the first Zora wouldn't know anything, but she'd felt that the search would be a little easier than it turned out to be. The failure they hit right away set a damper mood on the entire investigation.

When they finally talked to a Zora who paused at their question, Max's heart fluttered. Hope was in sight. "Actually…" The Zora jumped into the pool of water nearest him and swam over to an island in the middle of the pond. He picked something up that was sitting on the edge of the island and hurriedly swam back to them. "I found this bottle with a note in it. Maybe it's one of the Princess's clues?"

Max reached forward and snatched the bottle from his hand. "I wonder what that note says!" She uncorked the glass and handed the stopper to Link as she dug her fingers around to grab the letter. Before Link or the curious Zora could get their heads over her shoulder in time, Max started to excitedly read, "'I went to spend time with Lord Jabu Jabu when he swallowed me whole! I had the Zora Sapphire with me - Father, please don't be angry. I hope this letter reaches someone in time for my rescue. Signed, Princess Ruto'."

"She was eaten alive?" Link gasped.

The by standing Zora chuckled a bit and shook his head. "No, Lord Jabu Jabu is the large fish in our fountain behind the throne room. She has time… this has happened many times before. But she should be found soon, before she gets into any more trouble."

"Thanks for all the help…" Max said, realizing only too late that she had no idea of the Zora's name.

He smiled. "I'm Niku, and it's really no problem at all. Anything I can do to help the Princess!"

"Your Highness, we found a note!" Link shouted as he ran back up the stairs to the throne room again. He almost lost his Korkiri hat, he was running so quickly. "We found a note from the Princess!"

"Someone called Niku told us that he found a bottle, and in the bottle there was a note," Max explained, "and the note said that she was inside Lord Jabu Jabu."

"Lord Jabu Jabu?" the King exclaimed, though he didn't appear surprised. "She's always getting herself into trouble. This is the third time this month that fish has swallowed her!"

"Can she get out herself?" asked Link.

The King sighed. "Not usually. And today is the day of rest in Zora's Domain. Would you two go and rescue my daughter?"

Link seemed to anticipate this invitation, and as soon as it was presented to them, he didn't hesitate. "Of course, Your Highness! We'll save the Princess!"

Their enthusiasm was appreciated, but even Max knew that entering a fish's stomach to rescue the missing Zora Princess was the strangest thing they'd done.

"And how are we supposed to…?" Link question was lost as both his and Max's jaws dropped wide open. They walked around the corner coming into full view of Zora's Fountain. It must have been childhood naivety to make them forget to ask about the size of Lord Jabu Jabu. That was one massive fish! Without warning, Max keeled over onto the stony platform before the fish, laughing harder than Link had ever seen in his life. "What is it? Why are you laughing?" His questions only got her laughing harder. "What?"

"I'm sorry," she said, using a rail on the side of the platform to pull herself up. "I just can't even believe it. I thought she would be inside something the size of _a _large fish – not a hundred!" It wasn't an exaggeration, either. Lord Jabu Jabu had to be as tall as the Great Deku Tree, and as long as ten of Link's little huts lined in a row, maybe twenty.

"How do we get inside?" asked Link, which made Max's laughter subside. "His big mouth can't exactly be lifted open."

"Let's feed him something!" Max ran down to the water and pulled a handful of seaweed from its depths. "Here Mr. Lord Fishy!" She held the green, smiley mess up to his sealed lips. "Come on!"

The fish didn't need coaxing as she insisted; he opened his gargantuan mouth and began to inhale. The gusts easily lifted the small pair off their feet and carried them into his mouth, along with their food offerings. Max squealed as she tried to find Link in the whirlwind. When they finally connected, it was Max's foot into Link's jaw.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as they landed on the fish's wet tongue. "You kicked me!"

"Sorry!"

"In the face!"

"Sorry!"

"It hurt!"

"For the love of Nayru, Link, I said sorry!"

He wiped a fair amount of blood from his lip with the back of his tunic's sleeve and sighed. "It's not your fault, I guess. Let's go."

The pair walked through what they assumed was his throat and passed through some sort of sphincter into what was thought to be his stomach.

"What are we doing?" Max complained as they got to the stomach.

"You're helping the Princes…"

"Because her father asked you to?" Jazz's explanation was interrupted by a loud, unrecognizable voice on the other side of the chamber. The Korkiri and their fairies spun around to see a small Zora girl. Her pale blue skin would have made her look serene, had her facial expression not been so hard. Her hands on her hips, clearly demonstrated her annoyance. "I'm Princess Ruto – the one he sent you looking for. Well? Am I right?"

Max was the only one brave enough to answer. "The King sent us, yeah."

Ruto scrunched up her nose as though blondes in green clothing were the only source of stench in the place. "Who are you?"

"I'm Max, and this is Link." As Ruto whipped her head toward Link, he grinned unnaturally wide in hopes of being off Ruto's radar, and waved in an innocent, yet robotic manner.

"Your boyfriend?" Ruto asked.

Max's eyes grew at once. "No! That's gross! He's my friend!"

"Good," said Ruto. "He's too cute for you."

"What?"

Link didn't say a word. He was far too confused to interject. First Max was repulsed by the idea of him, but then she was offended when Ruto agreed with her. Eventually Link decided it was a girl thing and he would never understand, so he tried changing the subject. "Excuse me, Princess. Your father sent us to find you because you have something we need…"

"And what would that be?"

"The Zora Sapphire."

"You want the Sapphire?" Ruto removed her hands from her hips and crossed them in front of her chest. "Why should I give it to you?"

"Because if you don't, Hyrule will be in great peril!"

"How so?"

"Ganondorf is after the power, and if he gets it, we'll be doomed."

Then Ruto reached into a pocket on the floor beside her and pulled out the Zora Sapphire. "Ganondorf, huh?"

"Yes!" Max said, earning a glare from Ruto for even considering that she was part of their conversation.

Ruto raised her brow and stuck her nose in the air. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"Trust us! Trust your fath…"

Suddenly, a long tentacle shot out through from the next chamber and wrapped itself around Ruto, who emitted a piercing scream. As she was being squeezed through a gap in the wall, Max almost wanted whatever it was to munch on her until her voice box was destroyed, but they needed that Sapphire, and Link was already running after her.


	9. The Temple of Time

Chapter Nine

"Ruto!" Link shouted, diving between two walls of tissue in Jabu Jabu's belly. Max couldn't bear to imagine Link facing off against some twenty-foot high monster, so she chased after him. The monster was only a few inches taller than Link, but he seemed to be really strong. It looked like the octopuses Max had seen before, but it had a spiked shell protecting its back.

"Link?" Max scanned the chamber they'd just entered; it was much larger than the previous one, but everything in this room was flat and empty – no one else but the octopus and Max. "Where…?" Tilting her nose toward the ceiling, Max saw Ruto tied up with seaweed. Link was cutting her down with his sword.

"Max, look out!" Link's cry made her look back at the octopus, who had begun to charge. She drew her sword and stabbed it in its middle, hoping it would be enough to bring the monster down. It hesitated for a bit, but didn't stop coming after her.

A sound came from the ceiling that scared Max. "H'ya!" Ruto grunted audibly as she threw something at the monster. It was a stiff letter "L" made of wood that was able to penetrate his underbelly and return back to her. "He's stunned! Stab him again!"

Max sliced the monster every which way she could. Link fell from the ceiling and delivered the final blow to his belly. The octopus dropped and the three of them looked at each other with such pride for accomplishing this together.

"Will you two take me out to Zora's Fountain?" Ruto asked politely. "You need to be properly rewarded."

Link and Max led Ruto out of Lord Jabu Jabu, luckily able to go back out through the mouth. They all took advantage of the warm weather by taking a dip in the fountain, cleaning themselves off. As they sat on a fallen tree above the water to dry off, Ruto turned to Link.

"You saved me from that thing."

"I guess."

"You want the Zora's Sapphire, right?"

"Yes."

Max loved how logical Link was, sometimes. It prevented him from getting distracted when they had a job to do. In this case, he was able to overlook the fact that Ruto was blatantly flirting with him.

"I will give it to you, but you must know that my mother left this to me when she died. She said I must only share it with the man I am to marry – like the Zora's Engagement Ring!"

"But… we can have the Sapphire?"

Ruto's face fell and she spoke in a monotone Max found humorous. "Yes, you can have the Sapphire." She held out her arm and handed him the Spiritual Stone of water without even looking at him.

"Thanks so much, Princess!"

"Anytime." She sounded sarcastic, and Max couldn't help but laugh as they ran as fast as they could back to Hyrule Castle.

Their fast run soon slowed to a speed walk as they neared the castle. As they approached the moat, the drawbridge lowered and a white horse galloped over it. "Is that the Princess?" Link asked. Sure enough, Princess Zelda, wrapped in Impa's grip, was being taken away from the kingdom. "Where are they going?"

"Link!" she cried. Zelda mustered all of her strength and hurdled something in their direction. Without a second glance back, that was the last they saw of Princess Zelda. The object she threw landed with a splash in the moat. Link and Max watched until the last ripples calmed, and were instantly startled as a man's deep, booming voice addressed them.

"Which way did the white horse go?" As they spun around to see who it was, Max thought she was going to scream. Ganondorf sat perched atop a black horse, making him even taller than he would have already been simply standing. Link drew his sword and stared Ganondorf down. His deep voice emitted an eerie laugh. "You're not as tough as you think, kid." He raised his right palm toward Link, then moved it a fraction of an inch so it was directed at Max. She considered reaching for her shield, but she was frozen to the spot out of fear. There was no time for her to think before a stream of purple magic produced from Ganondorf's palm sent her off her feet, flying a few metres back. "See you, kid. Don't cross me again."

The horse trotted away, but Link wasn't listening; he was already at Max's side. "Max! Max, are you okay?"

"Go," she said weakly. "Go get what she threw in the moat. I'll be okay." Max could see Link's worn, brown boots squishing and crunching through the grass, and then he dove fully clothed into the water. She thought he splashed her, as a drop landed on her cheek, but she soon discovered that it had begun to rain. Link came back up and sat next to Max.

"She left us a message."

"What?"

"Are you okay to stand?"

"Yeah." Link helped Max get to her feet, and then she asked again. "What was the message?"

"She left us the Ocarina of Time." Link tossed her a periwinkle blue, ceramic ocarina with the Triforce inscribed near the mouthpiece. "She told me to play the Song of Time in front of the Door at the back of the Temple of Time. But first we have to put the Spiritual Stones at the altar. Then we can get the power before Ganondorf."

"You know the song?"

"She taught it to me in a vision one time." Max was about to ask, but she knew things stranger than visions had occurred to them in the past few days, and outside of Korkiri Forest, nothing was impossible.

"Then we should go to the Temple of Time!"

The trip through Hyrule Market was upsetting. So much evil was happening and no one had any idea. Children were running and playing without a care, and their parents were shopping as though their purchases would save them from what was going down. Link led Max down the off-beaten path and into the Temple of Time.

"You have the Stones," she noted. "Put them on the altar in front of the Door of Time." But there was no need. Right when Link took a step closer to the stand, the Stones left his satchel and found their own way home.

Link hesitated and looked at Max who nodded toward the Door, encouraging him to play the ocarina. He put the instrument to his lips and created a soft melody. Once the song was over, the Door shook violently and rose, revealing a separate chamber to the pair that weren't aware existed.

"Is that…?" Navi hovered toward the middle of the room and Jazz followed.

"Yes," Jazz said, bobbing up and down with excitement.

"It's the Master Sword!" Navi squeaked. "The Royal Family's most powerful weapon!"

"Is that what Ganondorf wants?" Max wondered aloud. "Where is the Triforce?"

Suddenly, a loud voice made the four of them jump. It seemed to be coming from nowhere, but it was clear to whom it belonged. "I knew I didn't need the Princess to get the Triforce – thanks, Kid!"

"Get the sword!" Max shouted. Both she and Link held their hats to their heads as they sprinted full force toward the pedestal in the middle of the room. They dove to grasp the handle and together, yanked it free of its stone encasement.


	10. The Chamber of Sages

Chapter Ten

The moment the Master Sword broke free of its pedestal, Max and Link felt themselves soaring through space and time. Waves of blue light surrounded their bodies as they were being tossed effortlessly around by the wind that seemed to be coming and going in every possible direction. Max felt as though she would never hit solid ground again when finally it came – the feel of a cold, flat surface smash into her cheek.

"Owch!" Link shouted. His voice echoed against the walls of where ever they were.

Max couldn't bring herself to speak. As she sat up, she felt a change. Something was uncanny and she couldn't quite put her finger on what. "Where are we?" She scanned their new surroundings, beginning to panic. She had no recollection of where they were or how they'd gotten there. They sat on a large yellow platform which she concluded to be a giant Triforce. Circling the Triforce were six round mutli-coloured platforms, level with their own. Max crawled toward the edge and peered over, not knowing what she would come face to face with; she was relieved when it was only water. The platforms within the water were safe and secure, but beyond their bubble everything was black.

"What just happened?" asked Link, looking out into the darkness. Max turned to face him and she almost swallowed her tongue.

"Link?"

"What is it?" he wouldn't tear his eyes off the trance that was the extended nothing.

"Link, you're all grown up!"

"What are you talking about, Max?"

Within the time they had been falling, Link had grown a foot and a half so his limbs were long and gangly. His blonde hair had grown messier and his face, which had shed its baby fat, had become more well-defined. The parts of his arms and legs that weren't covered by the tunic that used to be too big for him had been dressed by white tights. "You're… You're not a kid anymore."

When Link was finally concerned enough to look Max in the eye, he gasped. "Max, you're…" But he was at a loss for words.

"Me too?" Link nodded in response. She stood up and walked toward the blue circle platform, where she examined herself in the water's reflection. Her own image didn't seem familiar. Max's too-small tunic had also resulted in white tights covering her arms and legs, but the low-cut V-neck of her old tunic revealed the cleavage she'd developed. Her shoulder-length sandy hair had grown halfway down her back and was tied up with a low, side ponytail. The chubbiness in her eleven-year-old cheeks had strengthened though was not completely gone, and her height had not been so generously delegated as Link's; she used to be the same size, but now she only reached his chin.

Max watched Link approach her from behind through the reflection and place his left hand on her shoulder. "What is going on?"

"I'll explain it to you, if you like." The voice startled them both, and they went to draw their swords, but realized they were gone. "Don't worry, there is no violence here – only serenity." Max and Link spun on their heel carefully to see a short but beefy, old man with golden robes and a thick moustache. He was standing on the yellow platform.

"Who are you?" Max asked, taking the first step toward him.

The man pressed his palms together and held them close to his chest. "I am Rauru – the Sage of Light."

Link furrowed his brow and began to approach the man. "What does that mean?"

"The Sages are the group of people who united against Ganondorf in order to take him down. Unfortunately, when you opened the Door of Time, he was able to get the Triforce. We were lucky that when you did that, the Triforce shattered and he only got one third of it. We sealed you here until a frame where you would be suited to become the Hero of Time – children cannot defeat the Dark One."

"You sealed us in here?" Max asked. "For how long?"

"Seven years."

"Seven years?" Link exclaimed. "We're eighteen?"

Max was still considering every possible angle. "I thought Korkiri children didn't grow up…"

Rauru didn't seem interested in such trivial issues. "Link, you must rescue the Sages so that we may help you to regain power from Ganondorf. Do you understand?" Link nodded strongly, but Max still felt strange. She was an eleven-year-old girl who had sprouted nearly a foot and developed hips she didn't know what to do with. "When all of the Sages are rescued, we will pass you our power so you can defeat Ganondorf."

A blinding light indicated to Max that Rauru was either disappearing or sending them away. When she felt herself floating, she assumed the latter. She and Link finally reached ground again in the Temple of Time, right in front of the pedestal where they'd grasped the Master Sword. They both checked their backs and sure enough, the Hylian Shields and their individual swords had been returned to them – only Link had the Master Sword. Max's sword looked like a long knife to her adult-self; she made a mental note to fashion a new weapon later.

"Let's get out of here…"

Just as the pair of them were almost at the threshold to the outside world, they heard another voice. "Wait." This voice wasn't rough like Rauru's or booming like Ganondorf's; this voice was gentle and hesitant. They spun around to see a young man dressed in purple and white. His face was covered by a white wrap, and his blonde hair provided protection over his eyes. "I'm Sheik – survivor of the Sheikah. Ganondorf has destroyed my dwelling, and I know you're the only ones who can help defeat him." Sheik sighed heavily. "You know that once you step out of this Temple, things have changed out there."

Max couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. If they were seven years older, Hyrule was, too. "Changed how?"

"Everything is dangerous. You must be very careful. Ganondorf has recruited monsters to walk Hyrule, protecting his position. There are still honourable citizens, but be very wary of who you trust."

"Well, thanks for the concern," Link said, nodding once toward Sheik and turning to walk away. Sheik spoke up, stopping him in his tracks.

"I know where the Sages are taken captive."

"Where?" Max perked up.

Sheik looked into the peaks of the Temple as if looking into a brighter future. "There is one in a deep forest, one on a high mountain, one in a vast lake, one in the house of the dead, and the final one, in the sandy desert." Max's mind was racing, but Sheik didn't give her time to think. "If you believe what I'm saying – please, go to Kakariko Village. Look for Dampe – he will help you."

"Thank you, Sheik," Max smiled and took his hands in hers. "We really appreciate all the help."

"I will see you in the future with more information to aid you on your quest." Sheik took a large step back as if warning Max and Link to take cover. He flung his arm so his hand pointed toward the ground, and with a deafening crack, he was gone.

"What is going _on_, Max?" Link put his arm over her shoulder, which was much more comfortable now with the height difference.

Max rested her head against his side. "I don't know. But we should probably get going."

A smile crept over Link's lips. "You're right – we've got a Kingdom to save!"


	11. Kakariko Village Graveyard

Chapter Eleven

"What did Sheik say?" Max asked, trying to recall the whole conversation. "Karakiko Village, go see Dampe?"

Link nodded as they ran out, down the back road that returned them to the busy marketplace. "He said there were dangers now… What could be different? It's only been seven years."

"Yeah but Link, Ganondorf has taken a third of the Triforce and is using that power to destroy Hyrule as we know it!" Max might have gotten smarter than half an hour ago, their time, but Link wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. He'd always admired her ability to know what people would do, were they in a certain situation – social smart. Others might call it common sense, but it didn't come naturally to him; Link needed things spelled out.

They rounded the corner and came skidding to a sudden halt when they saw what inhabited the market. "What were those things?" Link gasped. Max ducked so they could both poke their heads around the building and take a better look at the things that put a hold on their adrenaline rush.

At first, they thought the entire market was infested with people, but taking a second glance, Max and Link got a better look: they were all dead. No clothing, no covers, all of the citizens looked very dark and decayed; their skin was peeling and their ribs protruded.

"Zombies?" Link suggested, providing an answer to his own question.

"Maybe."

"What do we do?"

"Run."

Max and Link took a deep breath before charging out into the open – their eyes never leaving the open drawbridge to Hyrule Field. They darted swiftly between the slow zombies until something happened to Max.

She would have screamed, but nothing came out; her vocal cords were frozen – everything was frozen. She could hear one of the monsters approaching her from behind. Link was nowhere in sight – he'd probably gotten to safety. Max thought this to be the silver lining: as long as Link could keep fighting. He was the Hero – not her.

Suddenly, she felt the dry, crusty skin rubbing against her face. The monster had wrapped its arms and legs around her small figure and pressed both hands tightly over her air passages. _This is it_, Max thought. _This is how I'm going to die_.

Max was on the verge of losing consciousness when the thing released its grip. She gasped for air, her knees giving in, collapsing to the ground. "Max – you okay?" Link asked, putting his freshly used sword back in its sheath.

"Fine," she croaked. "Thanks."

"I was almost out when I saw…"

"Yeah, this wasn't the only monster – we don't exactly have time to hang around." Max grabbed Link's hand and they dashed, successfully, out of the market.

Link was looking west, toward Kakariko Village, but something caught Max's eye that drew her in the other direction. "What is it, Max?"

She just pointed to Lon Lon Ranch. "You think she's alright?"

"Malon?" Link sighed. "You want to go check up on her?" Max nodded vigorously, and Link nodded along. "Okay, let's go."

Upon entering the ranch, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Cows still produced milk, horses ran in the corral. Then a thin man with a large moustache came up to them and smiled. "Welcome to Ingo Ranch!"

"What happened to Lon Lon Ranch?" asked Link, trying incredibly hard to keep calm.

The man smirked. "Ganondorf entrusted me with the ranch. Did you want to ride a horse?"

Max noticed Malon inside the corral. She was still small for her age, and her long auburn hair still reached her mid-back, but she didn't have the same positive aura about her. She wasn't dancing in a carefree fashion; she wasn't even smiling. Max wondered if that's just what happened when people matured, or if she was in trouble. "Yes, we'll ride."

He locked them into the corral and said, "You have one minute."

Instantly, Malon ran up to them and jumped onto her tiptoes so she could wrap them in her arms. "Malon, are you…?"

"Link, there isn't time. Get on Epona. Get her outta here. If you ever need her, play that song I taught you and she'll come runnin' – just get out."

"What? Why not you…?"

"Because, Max, I'm bound to be his slave forever. Save yourselves and save Epona!" Malon helped Link to hoist Max onto the brightly coloured horse with the white mane and then he lifted himself on behind her. "Good luck." Malon blew them a kiss and a tear ran down her cheek as she waved goodbye.

"Okay," Ingo said. "Time's up!" As soon as he opened the corral's gates again, Link slapped Epona.

"H'ya!" he cried. The horse raised her two front legs and galloped full-speed out of the ranch.

"We've got to talk to this Dampe," Max reminded Link, so he could lead Epona toward Kakariko Village. It was definitely faster by horse.

Entering the village, Max hoped off Epona before they came to a complete stop and Link steadied her. "Excuse me," she said to a fairly creepy-looking boy about their age who sat under a dying tree. "Do you know where I can find a Dampe?"

"The gravekeeper," the boy stated eerily.

"Sure. Where is he?"

"He keeps his grave warm."

"What?"

"His son gives him flowers every Sunday."

"…Are you his son?"

The boy chuckled, but still, his mouth didn't open very wide. "No, I am the son of the carpenter who rebuilt this village, brother to Anju – keeper of Cuckoos, not graves."

"So we should go to the graveyard?" Link asked.

"This one learns quickly." The boy's sarcasm stung them both.

Max grabbed Link by the elbow and led him to the Kakariko graveyard.

"He's _dead_?" Max exclaimed angrily as they looked down at Dampe's grave. "Are you kidding me?"

"Wait, look…" Link circled around the back of the headstone to find a package. "What's this?" They each pulled a piece of the brown wrapping back to discover Dampe's secret treasure. Max turned the weapon over in her hands and examined it closely. "Max?"

"It's spring-loaded," she said, still looking at the weapon. "You pull this trigger here," she pointed to the trigger she referred to, "and the spear gets stuck into something high up, so we can get to places we couldn't otherwise reach!"

"That's neat!" Link beamed. "So we've got the thin from Dampe… Where did Sheik say the Sages were held?"

"Five temples – the first one was in a _deep forest_…" Both Max and Link looked up and stared into each others' eyes for a moment. They hadn't been to the Forest since they'd left so many days ago – of course, to the others, it felt like seven years. It would be strange to set foot back in the place they had been so familiar with just a short while ago.

"We're going back home?" Link asked. Max wondered if it would still feel like home when they returned.

"Yeah – we're going back home."


	12. The Forest Temple

Chapter Twelve

The ride back to the Korkiri Forest on Epona was terribly silent. Neither Max nor Link was in the mood to talk much. They only hoped that everyone else was safe; and Max couldn't help but think about Saria. She had treated her so rudely, and if she never got to spend time with her as a friend, she would feel awful.

As Epona trotted up to the entrance to the Forest, Link hoped off the horse and then held his hand out to help Max. "Are we ready for this?"

She drew her dagger-sized sword and sighed. "As ready as we'll ever be."

The pair crossed the bridge and passed through a dense group of trees to finally see the home they had left what suddenly felt like seven years ago. Instead of the happy-go-lucky atmosphere that used the rule the Forest, war had broken out. There were Deku Scrub monsters shooting dangerous Deku nuts at citizens, and large flowers that were biting people who ventured too close. But there was one thing that hadn't changed: none of these children had grown up. All of their old friends were still anywhere from eight to eleven years old.

"Where do you think the Forest Sage is hidden?" asked Max. "You think we have to go into... the Lost Woods?" The Lost Woods was a part of the Forest the children were warned to avoid their entire lives, but of course a few would try to see how deep they could go without being scared they'd never come out. The only successful one was Saria. She'd burrowed far into the Forest and found a place that was entirely hers. Every time she was in there, she would play a song on her ocarina that echoed magically through the entire Forest. She refused to tell anyone where it was.

"Probably," Link sighed. "Let's go check it out."

By wielding their weapons, the monsters didn't come anywhere near them, but the children of the Forest looked very confused at who the new people may be. No one seemed to recognize Max or Link; but had they not been together when it happened, they wouldn't recognize each other either. "They didn't grow up," Link whispered to Max. "Why did we grow up when time passed but they didn't?"

"Maybe it's because we left the Forest. Maybe there's some kind of magic here?"

As they pondered reasons for their adulthood, they didn't even realize a small boy blocking the entrance to the Lost Woods. "Excuse me, you can't go by here."

Of course, Mido had his palms up as he stared at the strange couple. "What?" Max asked.

"You can't go into these woods."

"Why not?" She was growing frustrated.

"It's dangerous times, if you can't tell," he motioned down, over the Forest where monster-war ensued, "not to mention you are foreign to these woods and you will most likely never come out."

"How do you explain our green clothes?" asked Link. "And our fairies?"

"An attempt to sneak into the Forest," replied Mido simply. As Max was about to give up, Link took out Saria's ocarina and played the song that was already being projected inside the Woods. Mido's eyed widened as he gaped in surprise. "You know that song? Only Saria's closest friends know that song... Alright, you can go in."

The second Mido stepped aside, Max and Link barrelled through the woods, listening to the song to find their way. "Left here!" Max shouted, pushing hanging branches out of her way. Link followed her through the passage and before they knew it, they were in what must have been Saria's haven. They'd never seen it before, but this was too beautiful not to be where she'd sit. Max expected the music to be coming from the girl sitting in the clearing, but there was no girl to be found. Instead, Sheik sat very poised on a large tree trunk, playing a lyre.

"Sheik?"

"I was wondering when the two of you would get here."

"What are you doing here?" inquired Max.

"I'm helping you to find the Forest Temple, where the Sage has been taken... A young girl – I'm sure you know her..."

"Saria?" Link exclaimed. Max's heart sank at the look on Link's face; he was horrified. "Ganondorf took Saria?"

Max put both arms around him as Sheik continued his explanation. "You are closer than you think, and with the tool you most recently obtained, it will be much easier to find." And for the second time in two days, Sheik disappeared with a loud crack.

"Easier to find with this hookshot?" Max pulled the weapon from her pocket and then looked up to the tops of the trees. "Where are we going with...? Ah ha! Link, look!" She pointed at the thing that caught her eye and beamed as Link saw it, too. There was a large, white building they hadn't seen because it was covered in vines and blended in with the thick trees, but its opening was a few storeys high. It appeared as though there was at one point a grand staircase leading to the entrance, but it had long been destroyed.

Link took the hookshot and pointed it at a tree branch hanging just over the doorway. "Grab on." Link put his free hand around Max, and she held onto him for dear life as the spear hooked onto the branch and they were soon flying above the woods and swung straight into the Forest Temple.

The Temple was simply a large arena at a first glance – sand-coloured concrete floors with a wooden square in the middle, a square surrounded by four torches. The walls had vines crawling down them, and an altar sat across from them. "Where is she?"

Max and Link were on edge, awaiting a monster to jump out at them any minute. Suddenly, Max noticed something very out of place – a bow was caught in the vines on the wall to her left. Once she saw the bow, it was easy to find the arrows scattered on the floor beneath it. Someone had been here before and hadn't been lucky enough to live to talk about it. Max sprinted over to the wall, clambered up the vines growing there and plucked the bow down. Then she put the arrows in their quiver, dusted it off and slung it over her shoulder. By the time she turned around again, Link was staring at her with wide eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

"Behind you!" His shout scared her into doing a forward roll, but when she took a look at what it was, there was no reason to move. A painting of a red ghost was on the wall. It hadn't been there before, but it wasn't about to sprout legs and chase them. A gold plate on the bottom of the frame told them her name was Joelle. Suddenly, they heard a cackling sound. "Is that coming from the portrait?"

Max gulped and drew her first arrow, trying to hold it steady but failing. As she let it fly at the painting, the image of the ghost disappeared. "Where did it…?"

Link's shout from behind her made her whip around. "H'ya!" He was using the hookshot to shoot the now-real ghost from afar, and the blows seemed to be hindering it.

While Link fought Joelle, Max noticed a blue ghost take her place in the portrait – Beth, according to the gold plate. She shot the painting again, and decided to take on this ghost with her bow. The two battled it out with the sister ghosts for a short period of time, until both ghosts turned into a blue and red flame, respectively. The two flames journeyed over to two of the four torches and lit them.

"We need to light the other two?" suggested Link, not sure of his own idea. "Are there two more ghosts?"

He barely got his question out before a yellow-green ghost floated through the wall opposite the Temple entrance and collapsed into a puzzle consisting of four large blocks, almost as tall as Max. "What?" She and Link ran over to the blocks and noticed a pattern on the top.

"Max, push the one to your left over here!" She put all of her weight into pushing the block. By the time she had it in place, Link had organized the other three; she may have been feisty, but Link had a lot more upper-body strength than she did. The pale green flame erupted from the centre of the puzzle that built a picture of her labelled 'Amy', and landed on the third torch.

"Okay, where's the last ghost? Come on out!" Max bellowed. "I know you're there somewhere!"

Before either of them had time to prepare well enough, four purple ghosts appeared in a circle around them. "Four?" Link said sounding exasperated as he shot his hookshot out at one of them. The ghost he chose only disappeared as the three remaining continued to circle. "Only one is real!"

"How do we know…?" Max was about to get very stressed out, but then she noticed that one of the ghosts had a gold chain around its neck reading 'Meg'. "That one! Link, shoot that one!"

The hookshot pierced Meg's heart and the other ghosts vanished. With one last ghostly cry, Meg's purple flame took its place on the final torch, and the wooden square in the middle of the room rose to reveal a lift. "After you?" Link asked.

"I'm not going first! You go first!" Regardless of how serious she was, they both looked at each other and started to chuckle. Nervous laughter filled the arena in their sense of security – even if it was for the moment.

Link smiled. "Same time?"

With a nod, both Korkiri and their fairies jumped onto the lift and it descended into a black abyss.

The lift didn't go as far down as Max thought, because only a few seconds later, they were standing in the middle of what appeared to be a strange art gallery. "What is this place?" asked Link. He led Max up a few steps, and she waited at the top. Link walked around the circular, roped-off gallery and examined each of the five or six paintings. "They're all the same…" The paintings spanned from the ceiling to the floor , and all portrayed the image of a road leading to a castle at the top of a hill.

"Link, would you get back here? I don't like this…"

Link was on his way out of the gallery when suddenly a series of gold bars rose up from the floor, not only preventing him from escaping, but cutting him off from Max.


	13. Goron City

Chapter Thirteen

"Link!" Max screamed and reached her arm over the gold bars toward her best friend, but his eyes were directed back to the center of the gallery.

"You thought you escaped me, boy?" There was a dark horse that had appeared in the arena, and on top of the horse was perched a man who closely resembled Ganondorf, only the head was that of a ghost.

"Wh-who…?" Link took a step toward the horse and drew his sword.

"I'm Phantom Ganon. You think the King would come and fight you himself? You're nothing but a pathetic kid."

"Oh yeah?" said Link. Max could practically see him fuming. "Let's do this, then." As soon as Link started charging at the ghost with his sword, it turned around and barrelled into the closest painting. "What?" he gasped and turned to Max. "How am I supposed to destroy him from inside the pictures?"

"Link, watch your back!" she shouted, pointing an arrow at the painting of the bunch from which the ghost was emerging. As Link swivelled his upper body around, keeping his feet firmly in place, the arrow pierced Ganon's heart and he fell back out into the open as the horse galloped back into the paintings.

Link had just enough time to say, "Nice shot, Max!" before Ganon raised his staff into the air and summoned lightning energy to its tip. He raised his sword, unsure if this would be a successful method of blocking the attack, but soon discovered its effectiveness. Ganon shot the massive ball of energy at Link and his sword acted as a deflector, which sent the ball back at its creator. As if prepared for this to happen, Ganon hit it back at Link. This game of back-and-forth went on for what felt like centuries to Max. She held her breath until the ball struck Ganon and he collapsed to the floor. Was that it? Was he done?

Link's jaw dropped as he backed up. A large hole of purple and black energy spread over the gallery floor and was swallowing the Phantom before their eyes. "This is not the end!" he said, weakly. "You will see Ganondorf soon enough, and he won't be so easy…"

Once the ghost was completely diminished, the floor re-stabilized and the gate opened, allowing Max to jump into the arms of her best friend. "Link! I can't believe that worked!"

"Me neither," he admitted through a chuckle. "Thanks for keeping an eye out." He nodded at the bow strapped to her back.

"Ah yeah, not a problem."

A bright blue light had risen next to them as they spoke, and they hadn't even taken notice until it started flickering. The light spread into a wide circle on the floor and emitted more light as an encasement. They grasped each other's hands and stepped confidently into the circle of light.

Upon regaining consciousness, Link and Max found themselves back in the Chamber of Sages. Rauru wasn't anywhere to be seen, but the green medallion next to their Triforce was occupied. Saria stood confidently in the centre. She didn't look a day older than the last time they'd seen her – the same green hair, flipped out at the shoulders, the same quaint green skirt and matching boots, and the same honest smile. "It's been a while, you two."

"Saria!" Link exclaimed. It was obvious he was trying to hold himself back as to not leap across the water separating them and wrap Saria in his arms.

"I'm okay, Link. You've saved me."

Max couldn't believe what she was seeing. "You're the Sage of the Forest?"

"You did it, Max," she beamed. "You're one step closer to defeating Ganondorf. Do not forget I will be with you in spirit. If you ever need to talk, Link knows my song. We will communicate through the winds… Until we meet again, thank you… Thank you for saving the Forest…" A feeling of immense fatigue washed over Max and she fell to the floor in a daze.

When she opened her eyes again, Max discovered they had been transported back to the place where it all started. They were face to face with the dead Deku Tree. "I still can't believe he's gone…" Max sighed. "He practically raised us…" As she and Link walked toward the Tree, something erupted from the ground in front of it that made them both jump back in shock. A small tree had sprouted up and was smiling widely.

"Hello there! I'm the Deku Sprout!" he squeaked.

"I'm Link and this is…"

"I know who you are! You're the Chosen One – the Hero of Time!" Max was about to feel like a tag-along when the Sprout forced itself to turn toward her. "I apologize – the _Heroes_!"

"Heroes?" Max chuckled lamely. "I'm not a hero…"

"What are you then? Is a hero not someone who goes against all odds to save her kingdom from destruction?" The Sprout cracked a smile in its fairly wide trunk and added, "It may not be written in scripture, but from what I've heard, this couldn't be done without you." Max looked over at Link who nodded in agreement with the Sprout's statement. Her heart swelled; he needed her as much as she needed him. They were co-dependent. "But I must ask – do you know why you grew up after these seven years have passed – why you didn't stay children like your fellow Korkiri?"

Link took a sideways glance at his best friend and looked down at himself. "I don't… I've been thinking about it… Do you know?"

The Sprout straightened up and stared directly into their eyes. "You two are not Korkiri – you are Hylian."

"What?" Max gasped. "But we've been here for as long as we can remember!"

"And there was a time before that," the Sprout pointed out. "Both of your parents dropped you here when you were very, very young because of a war they didn't want you to witness. Unable to come and retain you, you were raised as Korkiri."

Her mouth hung open in shock. How was she supposed to accept all of this information as her personal history now? It made sense, but the idea was so strange to consider, let alone confirm as fact. The only thing that registered to Max was how absolutely exhausted she was. "Deku Sprout, I think Link and I should sleep here tonight – if you don't mind, that is."

"You must be tired. Stay here before you continue on this quest."

Right at sunrise, Link and Max packed their things and were already headed back out to Hyrule Field. They hopped on Epona's back and galloped off. "Okay," said Max shakily as Link held her in between his arms as he gripped the horse. "So _deep in the forest_… The next one was _on a high mountain_… Death Mountain?"

"That sounds right," Link said. "I wonder if Darunia is still okay…"

Once they arrived at the entrance to Goron City, the pair became fully aware that Darunia was probably not okay. The levels of rock and mud that was normally contained inhabited by a number of Gorons were empty – save for one. There was one curled up Goron ploughing through the top level of the mountain city, rolling as fast as he could. Link and Max approached him, forcing the little Goron to stop his rampage. "Get out of my way!" he demanded.

"We need to talk to you," said Link not giving in.

The small Goron crossed his abnormally jointed arms across his large chest and waited. "What is it?"

"Where did everyone go?" asked Max.

"They've been taken into the volcano. Don't even try to think about stopping the monsters – Volvagia is harsh."

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Link."

"Link?" The Goron suddenly perked up. "I'm Link, too! My dad, Darunia, said that he named me after the boy who saved the Gorons from Dodongo seven years ago. Is that you?"

"That… yeah, that was us."

"So you can save us from Volvagia! He took all of the Gorons and my dad went in to save them, but then he got captured! Please – I know you can do it!"

Link and Max shared hesitant glances. "Kid," Max sighed, "we need to go to the Fire Temple and save…"

"That's where my dad is – the Fire Temple!" Both of them jumped to life at the thought, and Goron Link beamed. "Here's the key to the shop. I shut it down when everyone got snatched. You'll need to grab two of the red tunics. They'll help you to withstand the ruthless temperatures of the volcano – good luck!"


	14. The Fire Temple

Chapter Fourteen

Max and Link didn't waste any time. They changed into their red, Goron tunics and took a shortcut Goron Link suggested through Darunia's room to the heart of the currently in-active volcano. They stood hesitantly at the opening to the Fire Temple.

"So they're all in there?" Max asked, poking her head over the hole to see a very long ladder that extended so far down, the passage grew black. "And we're going…"

"Of course we're going," Link said pointedly. "We have to go. We have to get Link his dad back. And from the sounds of it, I think I have an idea who the Fire Sage is."

They both glanced over the edge once more and then back at each other. "You're going first?" suggested Max in hopes he would volunteer.

Instead, Link rolled his eyes before swinging his leg over the small barrier and descending the ladder into pure darkness. Max followed suit and stepped carefully to avoid slipping and falling all the way down the pit. "Don't look down…" she told herself quietly so Link wouldn't hear how nervous she was. Without warning, her foot missed a rung and she felt her hands sliding down, her heart in her throat and her stomach jolting as she fell. She barely had time to get a shriek out before she'd fallen on Link's head and they both went crashing to the floor. Link, who had already been standing on solid ground by the time Max fell on him, sighed deeply.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine - I'm sorry."

"You should watch where you're putting your feet."

"It's dark; I slipped!"

"Just be careful around here."

And Max knew she had to be careful. Just because they donned the heat-resistant tunics didn't mean that they were immune to heat. Sure, they weren't getting burned to an instant crisp, but they did feel the waves of heat on the surface of their skin, and Max's palms were already sweaty.

Inside the temple, there was a main entrance with two doors - one to the right and one to the left. Fire Keese flew about, but it was nothing they hadn't seen before. They had the black-winged creatures in the forest, too, only they weren't set aflame. "You take the door to the right - I'll go left," Link instructed. Max nodded and they kicked their respective doors open. Link looked from side to side, but didn't see anything aside from a large pool of lava and a platform of rock in the center. "I don't see anything…"

But meanwhile, Max's mouth hung open. "Link, over here, quick!"

He rushed over and knocked into her back, grabbing her shoulders for support. "What is it?"

"Look…" But neither of them needed prompt to look at what she was trying to draw attention to. There were a number of cages in a variety of sizes, all carrying Gorons. Bigger Gorons had cages to themselves, trying to look strong, while some children were packed in together and others isolated – all of them had quivering lips and tears streaking down their stone faces.

"Link!" one of the Gorons closest to them gasped. "Link, you've come to save us…"

"How do you know…?"

"Darunia told us about your wonderful battle with Dodongo."

"He's proudly named his son after you."

"Save us!"

Max's heart was breaking for the poor Gorons. There didn't seem to be any method for unlocking the cages, then she noticed their openings were on the bottom of the cubes; but due to the Gorons stacked on top with the children in them, no one could get out. The Gorons were too heavy.

Link lifted the cages off the children on top and allowed them to climb down, as he couldn't lift them. The fully grown Gorons needed help freeing themselves – the starvation had really taken a toll on their strength. Link found a large hammer on the ground and used it to smash the bigger cages. Max rushed over to the children Gorons and wrapped her arms around them. "Are you okay?" But they didn't answer with anything but another stream of tears.

"Volvagia was going to eat us," explained one of the grown Gorons. "Each one of us. Darunia went to destroy the monster, but he got captured…"

"Captured?" Link shook his head and gripped the hammer. "No. You stay here, we'll go save Darunia."

"Don't worry – we'll do this."

Link grasped Max's hand with his free palm and they ran over to the door he'd previously opened. "Come on, I think I know where…"

As soon as he pushed the door open, there was a soft rumbling under the lava and stone platform that made them both pause. "What…?" Max and Link took a step forward onto the large platform and the door behind them sealed shut, but they hardly took notice.

The monster they called Volvagia emerged from the lava pool in front of them. It was a long dragon-looking snake that was probably the length of ten Links. Flames emitted from its plume and all down its scaly back as it flew around the arena.

"Link…?" Max took a small glance at her friend as she pulled out her bow and got an arrow ready.

Link stared at the monster as though he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Unfortunately, he waited just a moment too long and Volvagia dove and started to charge right at Max. "Now! Max, hit him now!"

But the panic in his voice didn't give her enough time to shoot before the monster scraped against her left arm, leaving behind a very serious burn. "Mother of Nayru!" she screamed. "Link, I can't…" Max shook her left shoulder and whined. Because of the burn, she didn't have the strength to hold the arrow properly against the bow. He rushed over to her and grabbed an arrow from the quiver hanging on her back, then put it in place, applied pressure with the bow and released it directly at Volvagia's head.

The monster fell to the ground with a thundering growl. Link rushed over to its head and smashed it as hard as he could with the hammer that he'd used to break out the Gorons. The large weight fell on Volvagia's skull, cracking it with a sickening crunch. As it responded with a loud screech, they knew it wasn't dead yet. Max ran toward him with her sword stretched over her head, her voice roaring with energy, and with all her might, she dropped the blade, severing the head from the rest of the monster.

It twitched a few times and then rolled into the pool of lava. Max gripped her burned arm tightly and looked directly into Link's blue eyes. "You alright?" he asked.

"Fine – just, ow, have to, ow, get some medication soon…"

He wrapped her in his arms and pulled a few strands of hair out of her face. "Thank you for doing this with me."

She smiled weakly and their attention was diverted to another circle of blue light, which he led her into without hesitation.

For the third time, the pair of them opened their eyes and found themselves on the huge Triforce, facing one of the coloured circles that surrounded it. This time, they faced the red medallion with a flame, and on it stood a very satisfied-looking Darunia.

"Link, Max, it is so good to see you again. You saved me," he let his eyes fall to the floor and added, "You saved my people when I could not."

"We have to protect everyone who lives in Hyrule," explained Link.

Max nodded. "Every Hylian soul is important and must be saved from Ganondorf before it's too late." It was weird saying the word 'Hylian' now that Max had discovered she was, in fact, Hylian rather than a Korkiri. She wondered what other parts of her identity might be lies, but paranoia wasn't helpful at a time like this.

"You are wounded," noted Darunia, staring at Max's arm. He put out his hands and a red energy shot from his palms, immediately cooling the burn. "It will get better before it becomes worse." He gave them both a powerful nod. "Well, you only have to save three more of the sages, and then we can help by giving you our power to defeat the Evil One."

The incredibly sleepy feeling overcame Max again; this time she woke up next to Link at the foot of the mountain – in Kakariko Village. Jazz and Navi, who hadn't spoken to either of them in quite a while finally began to squeak incoherently. Finally, Jazz was the one who spoke up. "One in a _vast lake_… Do you think we should go see how the Zoras have changed in these seven years?"


	15. The Water Temple

Chapter Fifteen

Jazz's suggestion to check in on the Zoras really didn't sit well with Max; she had no intention of having another run-in with Princess Ruto, or dealing with her belief that she was engaged to Link. But alas, her partner's heroism prevailed and Max's immaturity would have to take a backseat this time around. Link wouldn't let an entire species die out just because of a little animosity, and in the long-run, neither would she.

They trekked through the Zora River, this time without complaint, and Link played Zelda's Lullaby on his new ocarina at the secret entrance to the Zoras' Domain. When the waterfall parted and they stepped through, Max gasped audibly. Their entire habitat was frozen over – there were no Zoras to be seen. That's when she decided to take a step forward and hesitantly glance into the hardened pool. Her already-hanging-open mouth emitted a shriek at the sight; the Zoras looked as though they were tortured, forced into the pool of water and frozen within it.

"What is it, Max?" asked Jazz, fluttering her way over to see what the commotion was about. When she noticed the cause of Max's shriek, she squeaked. "Oh!"

Link's eyes widened and he stared at the staircase leading to the Royal Chamber. "The King!" They sprinted up the steps two at a time, hoping to Farore that the King wasn't in trouble. To their dismay, the sight of the King frozen in his seat met them. "We have to see what we can do…" Link sighed. "We can't just leave him here."

"Agreed," Max said followed by a strong nod. "Let's go back to the Fountain – maybe we can find something there."

But all they found was that Lord Jabu Jabu had been removed from his Fountain and ice blocks scattered the pond. "Where did he go?"

Link ignored Max's question simply due to his own shock at the situation. "Where's Ruto?"

Max wanted nothing more than to change the subject, but she took his hand and exhaled heavily. "I have no idea what is going on here… Hey!" Max recoiled and squinted down the Fountain – a portion that had been blocked off by the massive fish that once occupied the area. "There's a secret cave down there!" She shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand and pointed toward a crevice in the rock with the other. "Look!"

Once they all caught sight of the cave Max had spotted, Navi and Jazz flitted across the water to examine it. "They're someone here!" called Navi, not thinking her voice might scare them away.

Max and Link hopped over ice blocks to avoid the frigid waters below and landed inside the cave. "Who's there?" Link barked, allowing Max to cling to his arm. She was surprised to take note of how muscular he'd become since the start of their adventure. "Who's there?" he repeated.

Suddenly, a burst of light emitted in front of them as the person lit a torch in the darkness. "Link, Max," came Sheik's voice before he brought the light to his face, revealing himself. "I have something for you."

"Sheik?" Max gasped, a hint of unintentional annoyance in her tone. "What are you doing here?"

"I know you'd come here next to see what happened to Ruto and His Royal Highness, but the Temple where the sage is kept hostage isn't here. I possess the tools that will help you win the sage back; only with these devices can you hope to conquer the next Temple." When the man carrying the only light source in the cave returned back to them, he was holding something in his other hand.

Link reached forward to take them from him, indicating to Max that she should probably let go of his arm at this time. "What are they?" asked Link, inspecting his new tools.

"The tunic can be used to breathe underwater. If you wear it, you cannot drown."

"That's neat!" Max exclaimed, putting her arm through the neck-hole of the blue tunic. She wondered how it would work aside from magic. It had to be magic, there was no other way.

"And these are iron boots," explained Sheik as he put them down for Link to step into them. "Put them on and you can sink to the bottom of any body of water."

Link grinned as he put two and two together. "So with both of them, we can fight underwater creatures!"

"Yes, but not both of you." Sheik's correction made Max's stomach flip. There was only one of each. He was right – only one person could go into the Temple and come out alive.

With the tunic and boots tied tightly over Epona, Max's arms wrapped around Link's middle once more, they were off to Lake Hylia – all the way on the other side of Hyrule. The trip wasn't too far by horse, but it was still long enough to make them realize how thirsty they'd been up until now, and knowing they'd be travelling to the lake just made things worse. The anticipation of clearing their parched throats was unbearable.

Epona couldn't gallop fast enough for their liking, but they eventually reached the lake. As soon as the edge of the water peaked their line of vision, Max and Link jumped off the slowing horse and ran full-throttle toward the lake, dunking their faces in without hesitation. She felt like an animal on her hands and knees, lapping up the water with her tongue, but it was the sweetest water she'd ever tasted.

"Hey, Max," Link panted between gulps of water. "About who should go into the Temple…"

Max didn't have to think twice about it. "Link, it's yours."

"…Are you sure?"

"You're the Hero of Time. You need to do this. Besides," she sighed, "you're stronger than me. You're more courageous and far more fearless… You should go."

Link furrowed his brow and sat back against the cool grass. "Max, are you serious right now?"

"What?"

"You aren't fearless? I'm pretty sure you're the same girl who saved me from Dodongo's Cavern when we were seven years younger."

"Am I?" When Link didn't answer right away, Max went on a tirade. "What is going on here, Link? Stop and take a look around – what is going on? When did we become adults? Overnight! Am I still the same person as I was back then? I have no clue. I could be, but I still feel like a kid. Don't you?"

"Well, sure…"

"And now we've got all this pressure. I wish I could be as sure of things as I was back then, Link, but I can't be sure of anything anymore – how can I be sure of myself?"

Link looked deep into her eyes and put both hands on her cheeks. "I believe in you. I know we can do this together." He embraced her so tightly, Max thought her head might pop off, but she refused to let go. This was the safest she'd felt in, well, years apparently.

When they broke apart, she smiled a bit. "I'd still prefer if you go into the Temple."

"That's fine – I'll do it."

Once he'd squirmed his way into the tunic and slid on the iron boots, they hugged one last time. "Good luck," Max said. "I'll be here when you come out. And if there's an emergency, I want you to come out."

He rest his lips against her cheek as he whispered, "I put you first."

Max waved at him and he beamed before diving into the depths of the lake and entering the Temple. She scanned the lake and its surrounding area and suddenly her mind went blank. Who knew how long he'd be down there. So, what now?


	16. Lake Hylia

Chapter Sixteen

It didn't take very long before Max's imagination was running wild without her consent. The images of Link in grave danger, held hostage by some crazy-looking jellyfish kept becoming more and more realistic. She had to get up off the grass and do something or the images would just keep haunting her. But what was there to do around the lake? The idea of going for a swim was tempting, but something caught Max's eye that attracted all of her attention and curiosity: a pathway. The path was covered by hanging willow branches, but she could still make out a stream flowing through the strands of pale leaves.

"Where does that lead, I wonder...?"

Max crept over to the clearing, her thin boots sinking in muddy patches as she neared the water lapping up on the sand. Pushing the branches aside, she came across a wonderfully lush fishing hole. Only one other man occupied the space; he was sitting on the water's edge, chewing on a piece of long grass as he let his fishing rod dip into the pool. A large-brimmed straw hat covered most of his face.

"Hello?" Max said prodding some sort of response from the man. He turned his head up and smiled widely at her presence.

"Why, hello there, li'l miss. What can I do ya for?" When he caught sight of her attire, he added, "Yer not from around this here part'a Hyrule now, are ya?"

"No," she admitted, "I'm from Korkiri Forest…"

"Ah, yes, the Forest's a li'l east from here – am I right?"

"About half a day's journey by foot, I suppose." Max almost got distracted by the small-talk, but there was one thing on her mind, and she just had to ask. "Excuse me, sir, but my friend and I are on a quest, and well, we haven't eaten in a very long time…"

"Are you askin' me for some first class Lake Hyrule fishin' lessons, girlie?"

She beamed at his friendliness. It felt like decades since she'd been a child, and everything in the adult world seemed so scary. Even the people who hadn't been affected by the monsters were rude and selfish. His outgoing nature was refreshing. "Yeah, that would be great!"

The man, who later introduced himself as Bill, spent the afternoon teaching Max how to catch a Hylian pike and which parts were safe to eat. She devoured one before she realized it would be smart to save some for later endeavours. Bill gave her a large bottle to stuff with fresh fish meat, and she thanked him profusely.

"You have no idea how much this helps, really!"

"Naw, no worries," Bill said with a grin. "So what kind-a 'quest' you and yer friend goin' on?"

After all he had done for her, she was sure it would be safe to confide in him. "It's no secret Hyrule is in turmoil ever since Ganondorf has taken over…"

"Can't disagree with ya there!"

"Well, Link – my friend – he was chosen to save us from this… this mess. We're… well, we're from the past."

"The past?"

"We were sent into the future to fix all this, but when it's done, we're going back – seven years ago."

"So yer only…"

"Eleven years old, yeah."

He didn't say anything for a long while, but he wasn't staring or anything. Bill nodded in understanding and then sat back down to fish, sticking his piece of drying grass between his teeth. Finally, when the time called for words to be said, he turned his head toward her and smiled subtly. "You're very brave."

"Thanks, but I'm not as brave as… _Link?_" At that very moment, Link had come running toward her wearing the blue tunic, brandishing something in his left hand that looked like their trusty hookshot, only it was brand new. "Link, are you alright? What happened?"

"You'll never guess who the Sage of the Water Temple was."

Max rolled her eyes. "Bill, this is Link – the friend I was telling you about…" Bill waved at him awkwardly, but Link didn't even acknowledge him. "And who was it?"

"Ruto!"

Max's stomach churned with jealousy. "Is that right?"

"She asked about our wedding. She took that Zora Engagement Ring thing seriously!" he laughed. "But don't worry; I'm not marrying the poor, crazy girl."

"Okay, that's great. And you're okay?"

"Not a scratch. Had a few scares," he admitted, making her leap toward him, "but nothing I can't handle." She was still rolling up the tights on his arms to make sure they weren't horribly mangled and he was just hiding them from her. They weren't. "Hey, Maxi – what do you think you're doing? We need to get to Kakariko Village as soon as possible!"

"What?" Max asked, a little thrown off by the new nickname. "Why do we have to go there?"

"The next Sage is hidden in the 'house of the dead'! I'm pretty sure that village is the only one in Hyrule that practices death ceremonies to such an extreme that we don't. They should have a graveyard or a mausoleum or tomb or something." Max didn't move. They were constantly on the run. "Well?" he said. "Let's get going!"

Max turned back to Bill and smiled meekly. "I really appreciate everything you've done for us."

"Anytime, girlie!" He took his hat off and tipped it to her. "Hope to see ya around here after this here _turmoil_ has been laid teh rest."

They both took a sip of water from the lake before turning on their heel and climbing on Epona's back.

"Bill taught me how to catch fish – so at least now we have some meat to last us a couple days," Max explained, uncorking the bottle. "Try a piece."

They'd already tied Epona up outside the Village and were headed toward the entrance. Link dipped his two first fingers into the jar and cupped them around a large chunk of fresh fish. "This is delicious – for the love of Nayru, how did you catch such amazing fish!"

"Thanks…" But her appreciation could hardly be seen in her eyes beyond the raw horror. Upon entering Kakariko Village, they both fell silent. Link wrapped his strong arms around Max's middle and laid his chin on her shoulder.

"What is going on…?"

The entire village had been destroyed. Many buildings were burning and a storm was blowing through. Suddenly, they caught sight of Sheik; he was curled in a ball in the middle of the storm. Before either of them could get to him fast enough, a large tornado picked him up and carried him away.


	17. The Shadow Temple

Chapter Seventeen

"Sheik!" Link bellowed, rushing after the trail his spirit had left behind.

"Link!" Max chased him. She'd only caught up because he stopped running, but once she reached him, he fell into her arms. "Link, he'll be okay. He's stronger than we are. Sheik will know what to do about this."

"Yeah," he stood up and looked around the Village. "What happened here?" Many of the roofs had caved in and the wildfire spread to almost every structure. The open doors indicated these homes were thankfully abandoned before tragedy struck.

"Beats me…" As Max inspected the ground on which they stood, she noticed something strange lying where Sheik had been before he was taken by the tornado. "Hey, what's this?" She crouched down and picked up the strange device, turning it over a few times in one hand. It appeared to be a purple magnifying glass, but there seemed to be some sort of energy residing within it. "Link, what d'you think this is?"

He was already standing behind her, so he helped her get back to her feet. "It looks like a looking glass of sorts…"

"But look through it – you'll see," Max instructed.

Link shrugged and moved his face closer to the shimmering violet glass, gasping as he did so. "You're a girl!"

"Thanks, you dweeb!" Max scoffed, grabbing the lens from him.

He shook his head profusely and a sigh escaped his lips. "No, I mean, you're a little girl! That thing must show the past."

"I don't think so," Max said, looking around the Village through the lens. "Kakariko looks the same. That's odd…"

Suddenly a rush of air whooshed past them and a soft voice whispered, "Secrets." The pair of them perked up and listened more closely to the sky, not knowing from which direction the voice was coming. Then it happened again, only this time, the voice was much more distinct. "Secrets revealed." Sheik's voice sounded breathy, as though he was travelling within the wind. When the breeze was gone, so was his presence felt between them.

The lens of truth clicked to Link and Max as they shared a sideways glance, and then Max shouted. "The graveyard!"

Link wielded the lens of truth as Max held onto his other forearm. "What do you see?" she asked quietly, as though the truth they searched for could be scared away.

He paused for a moment and scanned the eerie graveyard for clues that would lead them to the sage of shadows. A sudden intake of air signalled that he'd found something. Without a word, he handed the lens to her, leaving it at the required angle. In a small niche near the other end of the graveyard was a hole in the wall that would not otherwise have been revealed to them. "Follow me," said Link. "Stay close. We don't know…"

But his warning came too late, for a bright purple Poe appeared directly in their path, causing Max to scream and her grip to tighten on Link's arm. He ran toward the secret niche, pulling her along behind him, and before they had time to consider what lay on the other side, they were through.

"What is this place?" asked Max as she took a delicate step forward. It appeared as though they'd just jumped through the wall into a tomb. Everything was dark and water dripped from the stone ceiling to the muddy floor. Link immediately handed off the lens to Max as he drew his sword and shield to explore the room. Almost at once, his foot sunk through a hole that wasn't there a moment ago, and he didn't have time to catch his balance. He fell into the concealed floor trick, shouting, and Max gasped, "No! Link!" Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Max leapt forward and allowed herself to fall after him.

The plunge wasn't as deep as either of them had thought. They barely had time to get a good scream out before the pair of them hit the ground. It was the _bounce_ that caught them off-guard. The floor on which they landed sent them back into the air for a moment. Max finally gained footing and looked around to notice they were on a large drum surrounded by shallow water. "This looks like the shadow temple, alright," Link confirmed. "Okay, where's the bloody beast?"

Max felt around for where she had dropped the lens of truth. When she held it up before her, she almost lost her grip again in shock. Link had no idea there was an invisible monster nose-to-nose with them until he saw her face. "He's right there, isn't he?" asked Link with a quiver in his voice. Max nodded slowly and handed him the lens so he could learn the fear for himself. It was simply a floating head with one eye and two hands separate from the face.

Link gripped his sword and swung it fiercely at one of the creature's hands, which shook in agony. Knowing just what to do, Max equipped her bow and got an arrow ready to fire at the second hand. Without warning, the hands started pounding the drum violently, making both of them lose their footing. Not only that, but it was harder for Link to keep one hand on the lens and the one handling his sword steady; plus he had to instruct Max where to shoot since she couldn't see the monster herself.

Having to handle too many things at the same time proved far too hard for Link. One of the massive hands found him and was literally squeezing the life out of him.

"Link!" Max shouted, already poising an arrow in its bow. "Drop him, you jerkface!" And the monster did drop him – before Max could shoot an arrow between its knuckles, at that. It loosened its grip, then tossed Link across the drum and into the waters below. "Link!" Max used the drum's texture to bounce and leap over to his side even more quickly. She could only hope that her best friend was still conscious. Her heart was pounding at a dangerous pace when she dropped to her knees in the shallow water and pressed her ear to his chest. There wasn't enough of a heartbeat to calm Max's racing mind; there wasn't a heartbeat at all.


	18. Gerudo Fortress

Chapter Eighteen

"Link!" Max had begun to panic the moment her knees hit his side and he didn't flinch in pain. "No, no, no… please, for the love of Nayru, no! You can't do this! Not now! I need you!" She was in the body of an adult, but Max's mind was still that of a child. She clutched at Link's emerald green tunic and cried heavily into it.

Just then, a tiny voice perked up. "Max, wait!" She hadn't heard from Jazz in a while; she'd almost forgotten the fairy was there. Jazz flitted excitably around Max's head for a moment before landing on Link's chest. Max backed up and stumbled, falling backside first into the puddle of water surrounding them. Jazz made herself very still until a pink light formed around her, and then spread around Link, as well. What was going on? When the light dimmed again, Jazz fluttered back up by Max's head, and they both stared at Link – waiting.

Only a few seconds passed before his limp figure had begun to twitch and he slowly lifted his eyelids. "Link!" Max beamed as she leapt on him. She was unaware if he was well enough to be pounced like that, but she didn't care. He was alive. "Link, we have to kill this monster to get out of here."

His face went stern and he wielded his sword as strongly as he had only moments prior to his injury. "Let's do this."

Once more, with no shield to protect his vitals, Link faced the monster with just his blade and the lens. Max followed his directions so she could pierce the monster as many times as she possibly could with her arrow, or their newly acquired, far longer hookshot. "Take that!" The monster groaned and, though Max couldn't _see_, she could feel the beast collapse onto the drum. With its final gasp of oxygen, it turned over a few times, and ended up falling into the pool of water below.

Link and Max took one sideways glance at each other. They had made it again. It only took them each two or three large strides before they were in each other's arms, not wanting to let go for a very long time. Max dug her small, pointed nose into his shoulder and breathed in his scent. "I was scared I'd lost you for good."

She felt him smirk into the side of her neck. "I'm not going anywhere."

Stepping into the bright blue light that formed transported the pair of them back to the Chamber of Sages. This time, the purple medallion in the water held the sage: Impa. She looked more tired than either of them remembered since they'd met her all those years ago. "Link and Max – it has been a very long time."

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Link agreed, understanding it was longer for Impa than it had been for either of them.

Impa's eyes went wide to ensure her warning went heeded. "You need to hurry to the Gerudo Desert – hurry and save the final sage so that Ganondorf can be stopped!"

They didn't have time to respond before their feet slammed against the ground and the entrance to Kakariko Village swam into view. Link held onto Max's hand tightly, dragging her toward Epona and helped her up just in time for the horse to go racing toward Gerudo Desert.

The closer they got to the desert, the more sand the wind blew in Max's eyes and the more disoriented Link grew. "Where are we going? I think it's up here…"

Link led Epona over a hill and across a rickety bridge up to the side of what appeared to be some sort of fortress. Then they caught sight of a couple of women dressed scantily in purple and red. "Excuse me," Max said, crawling down the side of Epona. "Excuse me!" She ran up to them and smiled. "Hi, my name is Max, and this is my friend, Link." The women didn't reply. They simply stared bewildered at Max, then shifted slightly to see Link waving at them politely from behind her. "Yes, we were wondering if you could show us the way to the Gerudo Des…" Before she could even finish her question, the women picked the spears they were carrying up off the floor and hit Max in the head with the blunt end.

"Hey!" Link shouted at them. "You leave her alone!" He leapt off Epona and dashed toward the ladies, but it took virtually no effort to knock him out as well.

When Link came to, he found himself in some sort of jail cell. Max lay next to him. He brushed his lips gently across her cheek and shook her shoulder. "Max, are you okay?"

She groaned and sat up. "What?"

"Those psycho women trapped us in here… we have to get out and head to the desert!"

The gravity of the situation crashed back down on her, and she stood almost immediately, even if it was probably dangerous. "How do we get out of here?"

The cell was made up of solid dirt and mud walls, with only one window that was far too high for them to climb to. "Hookshot."

"What?"

Link looked her deep in the eye and smiled. "Did they take our weapons?"

Max's eyes lit up and she reached into her sac for the hookshot Link found in the Water Temple. Sure enough, it hadn't been taken from them. Like they had done many times before, she handed the hookshot off to Link and wrapped her arms around his middle. He landed the shot on a plank of wood over the window and dropped them into the sill. From there, they easily shimmied onto another level of the fortress.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Link asked, scoping out the area, which seemed to be completely boxed off.

Just as he spotted an opening, Max pointed to it. "Over there. That's the only way out."

They each took a step forward when suddenly a waving hand caught their eye. Max turned her head to see four men, carpenters by the way they were dressed, locked behind bars. "Help! Please help us!" They cried. Link gave Max a pleading look, though she wished he hadn't. They were about to escape, and once again, his big heart was potentially going to get them into trouble. "Oh, thank you, kind strangers… Whoa, look out behind you!"

Max and Link turned on their heels to find one of the Gerudo women had almost slit their backs with her spear. Now that they weren't completely caught off-guard, the pair had hardly any trouble defending themselves. Max held her shield up, and Link gave the attacker a slice with his sword which scared her away, and conveniently dropping a ring of keys in front of them. Link picked it up with his free hand and jammed the keys into the cell's lock until it finally clicked open.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" The carpenters muttered as they ran for their lives. Something that Max reminded Link they should also be doing. With one last look to make sure the four men had gotten away safely, Link and Max made a mad dash for the opening toward the Gerudo Desert.


	19. The Spirit Temple

Chapter Nineteen

Max and Link wandered into the desert, very unaware of the danger into which they were embarking. It didn't take long for Max to realize they were low on food and extremely parched. Ganondorf himself could have been offering them water and she would have taken it happily. Leaning on each other for support, Max and Link staggered through the desert, hoping to Farore that they were moving in a straight line.

"I'm going to di-i-ie!" Max whined.

"If you keep talking, you'll get thirstier," sighed Link. "So shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Almost at once, a sight came into view that stopped them both cold. The thick sand dancing in the wind parted and revealed to them a thriving oasis. Palm trees and bouts of grass surrounded a not-very-big-but-big-enough-to-make-them-squeal pond. The water was blue and silky, and the heavy winds didn't seem to affect it.

"Do you think it's real?" asked Link, who dared take another couple steps closer.

"Looks real to me,"Max said, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open.

They both took a glance at one another before diving face-first into the water – which was, in fact, real. Max and Link slurped up as much as their mouths would hold at one time, when something odd caught Link's eye. He stopped drinking, wiped his face with the back of his green sleeve and looked up. As soon as he shifted his focus, Max did the same – only she let out a gasp. Before them was a huge temple, standing so tall, it practically cast a shadow over them – it's a wonder neither of them saw the stone temple before the puddle in the sand.

"Holy Din… what do we do?" asked Link.

Max rolled her eyes and smacked him in the back of the head. "We go in, you nitwit!" She got to her feet and started running even before her newly lanky legs became stable. Max stopped only to turn around and shout, "What, you're too slow to keep up?" Link laughed along with her as they raced toward the already-open doors of the temple. Upon entering, the laughter instantly ceased.

A rather tall woman had been holding a leather bag in her clutches and lost grip at the shock of seeing someone there, unexpected. Gold coins, silver keys and many types of jewels spilled over the top of the fallen bag. Simultaneously, Link and the woman drew their swords and shields, and Max pulled the string of her bow back, an arrow in place within seconds.

"Who are you?" snapped the woman in something of an accent they'd never come across before. Her long, dark hair was tied in numerous places down her back and the pink and gold outfit she wore could barely contain her bust.

Link spent no time gawking. "Who in Farore's name are _you_? You're the one who doesn't seem to want to be found!"

"I'm Princess Nabooru, and this is my temple!" the woman smiled only for a second, and then her face went stern once more. "Ganondorf hired me to work for him and you are the ones trespassing!"

"So then why do you look so guilty?" Max countered. She was not mistaken, Nabooru had shifty eyes and was on her toes since they'd arrived on the scene.

Nabooru stared down the pair and then said, "You're from the forest, aren't you?" I recognize you by your clothes. But usually Korkirians are children – you two are not children. Why are you in disguise?"

"We're not imposters, if that's what you mean," Link said defensively.

"Our parents gave us up to be raised by the Great Deku Tree during the war," explained Max with such honesty conveyed that Nabooru's heartbreak for them was apparent on her face. "They didn't make it, and like all other Hylians, we grew up."

The Princess wore a look of sympathy which she took the time to nurse before ejecting: "I don't want to be a slave to Ganondorf – get me out of here! Please!"

As if sensing their conversation, two eerie giggles emerged from within the walls of the temple. The three of them glanced around, looking for the source of the voices. From the sound of it, Max expected to be searching for multiple old women. Suddenly, their voices interjected, though their bodies still weren't seen. "Hee hee, Koume, I think the Princess isn't taking the Dark King's suggestion into account…"

"I don't think so either, Kotake."

"What happens to those who disrespect the King's orders?"

A large purple swirl of light erupted from the floor right under Nabooru and swallowed her whole, before she could even make a yelp in protest.

"Princess!" Max gasped and started for the gaping hole of light. Prior to her jumping after Nabooru, Max took hold of the red and silver shield she'd left behind when the voices took her. Max and Link grabbed onto each other before allowing themselves to be enveloped by its evil.

When the pair was finally spit out the other end, they found themselves on a large square platform, over a pit of lava. They pick themselves up and came face-to-face with the voices: two witches flying around the chamber on broomsticks. One had bright blue eyes and the other's were bright red.

"Where is the Princess?" Link shouted over the witches' cackling.

"Oh look, Koume," the witch with the blue eyes chuckled. "The little ones came to save the Princess! She'll get what's coming to her."

"I see, Kotake, I see…" Koume's red eyes widened. "They think they can beat us and take back the Princess."

"And we will!" screamed Max, shooting an arrow at Kotake.

"Better be careful, little girl." Kotake dodged the arrow with ease and a ball of blue energy formed in her hand, which she threw at Max. Max jumped out of the way, but when the ice collided with the stone ground and shattered, one of the sharp pieces hit her in the shoulder.

"You'd better not try that on her again, or I'll make sure you're both swimming in this lava pool!" Link bellowed at the witches. Koume smirked at Link, created a ball of fire energy and tossed it at his face with very little effort and such rapid speed, he'd never be able to move in time.

"No!" Max dove, still holding onto the shield Nabooru dropped, in front of her best friend. The shield's reflective material sent the fire directly back at Kotake, whose ice energy could not handle the heat. "Take the shield," Max said, tossing Link the handle to their new weapon. "I can dodge the ice attacks!"

And the battle had begun. Max shot as many arrows at Kotake as she could, until finally one of them made the fatal blow to the heart, bringing her down. The witch had made a few lame attempts to take Max out, but it was nothing she couldn't easily avoid. All those years hunting rabbits in the Forest as a child had built up her agility. "Yes!" Link exclaimed when he noticed Max's victory. Unfortunately, this left Koume with an open target.

The witch threw a ball of fire into the air and let it fall a bit before whacking it with all her might into Link's open chest. "Link, shield! The shield!" Max's words were useless; by the time she'd spit them out, the spell had already reached Link. Luckily, he'd thought of using the shield on his own, and the fire ended up striking the metal, reflecting back at its creator and knocking her off her broom, into the lava below.

"You were amazing!" Link exclaimed once they were sure they were alone.

Max felt her cheeks grow warm. "It wasn't only me."

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

"And I wouldn't be in this crazy lava pit if it weren't for you and your being the Hero of Time!" Max laughed.

Link beamed and wrapped her in a very tight hug. "You saved my life."

A blue light arising in the middle of the platform interrupted her train of thought. But she grasped his hand and they stepped into the blue light for the very last time.


	20. The Temple of Time Again

Chapter Twenty

Max had never felt Epona gallop faster than that very moment. Link continuously patted her and hollered in her ear, "Faster, Epona – I know you can go faster. Please!" He was sure to turn around every few seconds to remind Max to hold on to his waist as tightly as she could. Her heart was pounding so hard, she thought she was going to be sick. This was it. Their whole journey had been leading up to this final mission, and there was no escaping it.

Max's anxiety had her wishing the horse ride could last forever so they'd never have to reach the castle; but sure enough, the corrupt Hyrule castle came into view and tensions grew high. There was no time to dwell on their nerves. Link hopped off Epona, took Max by the wrist and they ran into the monster-infested marketplace. They didn't have time to fight off the monsters, so they just ran as quickly as they could around them. Suddenly, something caught Max's eye.

"Sheik?"

"What?" said Link.

"Sheik is standing on the steps leading to the Temple of Time. Look."

Link brought his eyes to line up with Max's and he inhaled heavily at the sight of their mentor. "What is he doing here?"

"I don't know, but I think we should go talk to him."

Both of them, still hand-in-hand, dashed up the stairs toward Sheik, but once he saw them approaching, he turned his heel and ran into the Temple of Time. Max and Link chased him up the lengthy stretch of stairs and into the Temple, where they saw him standing as thought he'd been waiting for them there all along.

"Link, Max," he said, nodding toward both of them. "Before you fight Ganondorf, there really is something I must share with you. When Ganondorf tried to steal the Triforce, his attempts failed and he was only able to grasp hold of one of the three pieces. The Triforce of Power was all he was able to obtain, and that is how he has been attacking Hyrule thus far. When the three pieces were forced to separate, they returned to their rightful owners. He got Power, the Triforce of Wisdom went to me, and the Triforce of Courage? Link, look at the back of your hand."

He did has he was instructed, and Max looked at his hand too, to see one of the golden triangles flashing brightly through his gloves.

"You were the Hero of Time from the start. But that is not what I came here to divulge." Sheik held up his hand to reveal his own flashing Triforce piece, and then a flash of white light blinded them all momentarily. Once the light died down, Max and Link were met with an image that made them both gasp in shock. Where Sheik once stood in his tights and mysterious mask, now stood Princess Zelda herself – all grown up, and wearing the most beautiful Hylian gown Max had ever laid eyes on.

"Princess!" exclaimed Max. "What…?"

"I knew I needed to help you," she explained in her soft voice. "But I couldn't do it as myself. Not with Ganondorf and his minions about. We should be safe in the Temple…"

Her thought was interrupted by a creepy chuckling coming from above them. "You made an error of judgement, Princess Zelda. I have been keeping my eye on these two from the start. It was only a matter of time until you showed up!" During the speech that could only be made by an unseen Ganondorf, Zelda was encased in a rose-coloured crystal and taken up to the highest point inside the Temple. "The Princess will be coming with me until you decide to give me that piece of Triforce, boy!" And with that, the crystal disappeared with Zelda inside.

"What in Hyrule do we do now?" asked Max, who was beginning to panic.

Link ran his fingers through her hair to calm her down. "Don't worry. We've done stuff like this before. You saved my life on numerous occasions. We'll go to his castle and get the princess back. That's all there is to it."

"I know," Max said, breathing heavily. "It's just that, well, we've never ha to deal with Ganondorf himself before…"

"He's scum. He's nothing. Hey," he used his finger to pick her chin up, forcing her to face her directly. "Hey. It'll be okay."

Link's smile drew a smile out of Max and she nodded once. "Okay, let's go."

Staring up at the massive black castle, knowing it had once belonged to Princess Zelda and the King of Hyrule, made them feel guilty in some way – like it was their fault Ganondorf had taken over the land with his evil power. It was surrounded by a deep lava moat.

"How do we get across?" The words had barely escaped Link's lips when a bright rainbow glow swept around the both of them. The power of the sages bound together and formed a bridge across the flaming moat.

"It's time, isn't it?" Max asked, knowing the answer.

"Yep, time to go," said Link matter-of-factly. He took one look over at Max, who stared at the ground. "What is it, Max?"

She looked up and held his eyes with hers – being filled with tears got his attention. "We've got a good chance. But if we don't make it out alive today, I want…"

"We will make it out alive!"

"…If we don't make it out alive, I want you to know that you're my best friend. And I care for you very much. And know I don't regret anything – especially not helping you on this quest. No matter what happens today, we're heroes, and there's no one I'd rather be a hero with than you."

Link's stern face lightened a bit and his lips began to crack into a small smile. "Me too." He then noticed she was already holding firmly onto his forearm. He put his hand in hers and squeezed. "Good luck." They walked over the rainbow glass bridge and into the castle.

Much like when the castle had been under different rule, there was security around every corner – only this time, they weren't soldiers, but monsters of every type. "There!" Max whispered, pointing toward a centre pillar they all seemed to be guarding. "There are ramps to get in above us… the stairs seem to be just over there." Not a quarter of the way around the circular room, a flight of stairs led to the bridges above. "Just make sure no one sees you!"

They almost got caught a few times, but made it there without any attacks. Max was sure that if anything ended up coming after them on their way to Ganondorf, she would pass out from breathing too hard. Once inside the wide pillar, they followed the red carpet on the stairs up to a door.

"Do you suppose…?" Link whispered. Beyond the door, it was clear that someone was playing an organ and laughing maniacally. It was obvious who was on both of their minds.

Max nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah… you?"

"As ready as I will ever be."

"So let's not wait around for someone to find us, yeah?" Link put his hand on Max's shoulder and rubbed. "We'll do it together."

"Together."


	21. Ganondorf's Castle

Chapter Twenty-One

In one sweeping motion before he could turn back, Link grasped the door handle, turned it, and pushed it open to reveal what was inside. Max was shaking like a leaf in the wind, and her heart was racing a thousand miles a minute. Upon opening the door, they were met with an uncanny sight. Ganondorf had his back to them as he played noisily upon a large organ. Way above the organ, hanging stiffly from the ceiling, was the pale pink crystal with Zelda held captive inside.

Without having to turn around to know they were there, Ganondorf began to laugh. "You've come to save the Princess, young ones – just as I expected. Unfortunately, there's something I need you to hand over before I can let the Princess go..." Link looked down at his hand immediately, as the golden Triforce of Courage had begun to glow. "Yes, that's it... I must complete the Triforce if I hope to gain complete control of Hyrule."

"That's not going to happen!" Link growled, gripping his sword's handle on his back.

At once, Navi and Jazz started to bob up and down with anxiousness. It wasn't until now that Max had realized their fairies hadn't given them much advice, if at all, since they were children. Maybe in the grown-up world there wasn't always someone to guide you...

Ganondorf laughed heartily. "It's good to see you haven't lost your spunk, kid."

He had his hand out, a purple ball of light growing more powerful in his palm by the second, when Max interrupted its growth by pulling out the bow and striking him with an arrow. "You're not going to hurt him! And we're not giving you anything, you evil, power-hungry maniac!"

"Aren't they fussy when they don't get what they want...?" Ganondorf said mockingly. "Well, if you want to do things the hard way, it's time to play nasty!"

Once more, Ganondorf held out his palm and built up an energy ball, but before either Link or Max could stop him, he flung it across the large chamber. It just missed Max, but Link was keeled over on the ground, hoping to Farore he would be able to get up and continue fighting.

"Link!" Max shouted, rushing over to him and pulling him to his feet. "We can do this."

"We don't have a choice," Link admitted sternly. He pulled his sword from its sheath and wielded it with both hands. "Bring it on."

Ganondorf shot another ball of purple energy toward him, and without really putting much thought into how to counterattack, Link swung his blade at it. To both of their surprise, the ball went shooting back toward Ganondorf, who collapsed and his breathing went ragged. Max shot another of her arrows at him while he was down.

Getting angrier by the second, their enemy's cape rustled and the next thing they knew, he was high in the air, floating circles around them. He created another orb, this time black – Max figured this one was more powerful than the first, by the look of rage on his face. When he hurled it at Max, Link stepped in front of her and used his sword once again to send the energy force back at its maker. Ganondorf unexpectedly used the large staff he was carrying to bounce it back at the duo, sending it back twice as fast. With one more swing of his blade, Link sent the black orb back at Ganondorf, who crumpled to the ground; his fall was harder since he was further up this time. This gave Max a good opportunity to shoot him a few times with her arrows.

It seemed as though he couldn't get up. The Dark King tried to get to his feet, but instead, he reduced himself to nothing and vanished at a black wisp of smoke into the air. As he disappeared, Zelda was released from her rose prison and scurried as fast as she could in her heels toward the pair of them.

"That was too easy..." Max thought aloud.

Zelda acknowledged her statement, but first decided to address the fact that she was free once more. "Thank you both, you have helped save..."

"I may be dead, but I'm not gone," said the voice of Ganondorf from beyond. "If I can't have Hyrule under my decree, there will be no Hyrule!"

Just then, a rumbling could be heard as though some volcano off in the distance were erupting. As the sound grew louder, the three of them realized they were in serious danger.

"He's bringing the castle down!" Zelda's mature voice squeaked with fear as a piece of the roof started to crack and cave in. "We have to get out of here... follow me!"

They sprinted out of the room and shut the door just in time; once it was closed, they could hear everything turn to rubble and crash to the floor. "Hurry!" Max shouted. Both Link and Zelda had been stunned by the loud sounds, but Max was already taking the spiral staircase two at a time. They ran and ran, until a large piece of rubble blocked their path.

"Where do we go now?" asked Link in a panic.

Zelda searched the room just outside the centre pillar of the castle and pointed toward a door. "There!" What they didn't know was that the door led to a balcony at least twenty feet off the ground. "We have to jump!"

"Jump?" Max said. She thought back to their very first mission inside the Great Deku Tree and how neither of them wanted to jump first. Things seemed easier then. Now it was the very same task, but everything felt a million times harder. The weight of the decisions in their lives held a lot more at risk than they could have imagined.

"Jump, yes, jump!" Without thinking twice about it, the Princess threw her legs over the railing and leapt from the balcony. Her landing lacked grace, but at least she didn't look too bruised up. When she staggered to her feet again, Zelda looked back up at them, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. "Hurry!"

Link turned to Max and said softly, "I'll jump first..."

"I can't hear you!" Max yelled. Even though they were right next to each other, the sound of stone and wood collapsing around them drowned him out.

"I'll jump first!" And without looking back, he was easily hopping over the rail to meet with Zelda on the other side. Then he shouted back to Max, "I'll catch you!" She was hesitant to take the leap, but a large piece of rubble that nearly crashed into her scared her enough to throw herself over. On the way down, Max only hoped that Link was there for her; she hadn't planned her landing very well, and if she hit the ground, her spine could get seriously injured. Sure enough, Link held out his arms and acted as a cushion to her fall. They both tumbled to the ground, but neither of them was hurt.

It didn't take long before the entire castle had turned to a pile of stone before their eyes. Max sighed and looked around. "Is it over?" But of course it wasn't. Rising from the rubble was a huge, monstrous creature that looked like some kind of bull. At the sight of this beast, Link rushed toward it. Before Zelda or Max could catch up, a ring of fire formed and cut them off from him.

"This must be a fight the Hero of Time must battle on his own," Zelda said calmly.

Max hated sitting on the sidelines – especially watching Link slice the gargantuan monster all on his own. She could be helping him, but then she took into account what Zelda had just told her. This was Link's journey in the first place; Max had done all she could to get him to Ganondorf, and now it was his time to be the Hero. A few times, Link was in fatal danger, and all the two ladies could do was hold each other and gasp, or close their eyes until they heard Link's grunt when he next thrust his sword; the sound made them sure he was still alive.

With one final blow to his tail region, the monster fell to its side noisily and then became motionless. "I... I did it?" Link said questionably, as if to ask if the whole thing was really over. "Is Ganondorf gone?"

The fire died down enough to step over, Zelda headed toward Link, looking around the site. "Yes," she said, "I don't feel his presence anymore. It's done." The three of them exchanged looks of hesitant ecstasy, and Zelda's voice went from mature to excitable. "It's done!" Max, Link and Zelda all dashed at each other, meeting in the middle for a group hug, only to find that once they touched, a bright white light emitted from them and sent them reeling off their feet.

When they came to once again, Max couldn't believe her eyes. The two friends before her had reverted back to their child-like state, which could only mean she had done the same. Link looked somewhat strange now that he wasn't as tall and handsome as before, but instead a happy youth with his rosy cheeks. Zelda's long, blonde hair had gone back to its short length under the headpiece, and her catlike eyes were once again round and playful. Max had grown so used to being an adult; it felt odd to have shorter legs and slim hips after all that time.

"It's over," Link said in his prepubescent voice. "We did it!"

That night, a Hylian party was thrown in their honour at Lon Lon Ranch. A large bon fire set the mood and everyone they'd met or helped on their journey was there – except the Great Deku Tree, of course, who still rested in their memories. Darunia, Ruto, Impa, Malon and Talon, Saria, Nabooru, and a face that was oddly familiar to Max... She looked over her shoulder and noticed Zelda was speaking very intently with Link, so Max wandered over to the boy she recognized. He couldn't have been more than twelve years old.

"Hi," she said to him, making him beam. "Do I know you? You look so familiar. My name is Max..."

"I know who ya are, miss," said the boy, issuing to the banners hanging everywhere that donned hers and Link's faces. "But I'm kinda surprised you can't tell who I am."

It was the accent that made it all click for her. "Bill?"

"Yup," he grinned. "That boy from the fishin' hole – now you're rememberin' all that time we spent."

"But, but you seemed so much older to me back then."

"You were still a child inside, why, I don't blame ya for thinkin' of twenty as old!"

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Did ya want to grab a bite to eat with me?" Bill asked, his smile not leaving his face.

Max didn't have to think twice before responding, "Yes. But can you give me a minute?" She noticed Link had finished speaking with Zelda and wanted to see what was going on. "I have to talk to my friend."

"Yeah, sure, miss. I'll meet ya over by the grub!"

Max approached Link from behind and tapped his shoulder. "Hey you!" she whispered in his ear, making him jump.

The Link she knew growing up in the Forest would have gotten cross with her, but after their grand adventure, he just spun around and hugged her as tightly as he could manage. "Max!"

"How'd the talk with Zelda go?"

"She thanked me for everything. Then she told me the gods have to reassemble the Triforce, so if I feel any powers trying to get it away from me, I should just let them take it."

"Oh, well that's good." Then Max got the courage to ask the question she'd been wondering about. "Are you and Zelda... together?"

"Together?" Link asked. Then he responded in a way Max didn't expect in the slightest; he burst out laughing. "Max, have you already forgotten we're eleven years old again?"

"I know," she sighed exasperatedly. "But you know as well as I do that we've both matured a lot since the last time we were eleven years old."

"Well, we're not 'together'."

"I don't care if you are. I was just wondering. Anyway, I think I like someone."

"Oh yeah?" Link asked with a smirk. "Who?"

"Bill."

"Who's Bill?"

"The boy who taught me to fish while you were fighting in the Water Temple."

Link smiled as he looked over at Bill and waved at him, earning a wave in return. "It looks like he's waiting for you."

"Wait!" They both turned to see Zelda running up to the pair of them. She clutched her chest and breathed deeply once she was close enough to have their attention. "Link, Max, wait! There has been an incident in Clocktown and they need your help!"

Link and Max smirked at one another and nodded. "Bring it on."

**Author's Note: Thanks so much to all the reader's who have followed this story since the first chapter. I really appreciate it. Hopefully you give some of my other stories a chance in the future. Best wishes to all of you, and don't forget to R&R!**


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